Under the jurisdiction of Shanghai, Yangpu District is located in northeastern part of downtown Shanghai and on the northwest bank of the lower reaches of the Huangpu River. Across the river from Pudong New Area, it borders Hongkou District on the west and Baoshan District on the north. Covering a total area of 60.61 square kilometers, Yangpu District has a total resident population of 1,242,548 as of November 2020, according to the Seventh National Population Census.

Yangpu is named after the Yangshupu Port, which runs through the district from north to south. The area along the river in the south was the East Zone of the former Shanghai International Settlement, while the area in the east of the central part of the district was the place where the Greater Shanghai Plan was implemented. Yangpu not only has the 15.5 km of bank along the river, the longest among all districts in the central city, but also boasts great economic strength. Fuxing Island, the only planned ecological island in the city, is located in the district.

In Yangpu District, there is Jiangwan Wujiaochang, one of the four urban sub-centers and one of the top ten business centers in Shanghai; New Jiangwan City, Shanghai's third generation international community; Pan-Tongji Knowledge Economy Zone, which produces a sizable profit; Dalian Road, which is a cluster area of headquarters and R&D centers of Fortune 500 companies; and the East Bund. Yangpu is rich in scientific and educational resources, with 14 institutions of higher learning in the area, the number of which is more than one third of the total number of colleges and universities in Shanghai, making it known as the "Central District of Shanghai's Academic Institutions". These include Fudan University, Tongji University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and the Second Military Medical University.

In May 2016, it was established by the State Council as a demonstration base for mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

In 2017, Yangpu District was reconfirmed as a national hygienic city (district).

On October 20, 2020, it was selected as a Double Support Model City (County). (Published on March 20, 2023)