Some legends regarding the name of this place are very popular among its natives. According to one story the present Bhilwara city had a mint where coins called 'bhiladi' were minted and from this denomination was derived the name of the district. The city has a quaint story of origin, carefully preserved by its locals. It is said to have come up in the middle of the 11th century when a Bhil tribal, supposedly one of the first settlers, built a Shiva temple on the site of the existing Jataun ka Mandir. This is in the area called Junawas, the oldest part of the town. Bhilwara is famous for its fad painting. As per the other story once upon there was a tribe named bheel helped Maharana Pratap in the war against Mughal emperor, Akbar lived in Bhilwara region with the passage of time this area came to be known as Bheel+Bada (the area of Bheel) then Bhilwara. Krishna Radha mandir (temple) or Bada mandir that exists today also is the oldest part of this place, constructed in the mid of the 11th century. This part of the area in the district is presently known as Purana Bhilwara. Historical records depict that a town named Mandal, located close to the place of Bhilwara served as the military base for the Mughal army during the period of their attack in Chittaurgarh. Slowly and gradually it has emerged as one of the major cities of Rajasthan. Nowadays, Bhilwara is better known as the textile city in the country.

The district has various famous personalities belong to different fields. Badri Lal Chitrakar is an Indian miniature art artist from Bhilwara. He was awarded with numerous prestigious awards such as Shilp Guru Award (September 9, 2006), National Award of Master craft person (1987) and Pune Festival Award. Abhijeet Gupta was born on October 16th, 1989 in Bhilwara. He is an Indian chess player with the title of Grandmaster (GM). He has won World Junior Chess Championship (Turkey), 13th Dubai Open chess Championship (2011), Indian National Premier Chess Championship (2011) and Commonwealth Chess Championship (2013). He was awarded with Arjun Award in 2013.

Geographically, the district covers to a geographical area of 10,455 square kilometers and occupies the rank 12th in the State and 60th in India on basis of this size. As per data recorded in the year 2021, there was a total 2.15% forest area of total geographical area. The district lies at 25°35'N latitude, 74°64'E longitude and 421 m altitude. It is bounded by Ajmer District on the North, by Bundi District on the East, by Chittorgarh District on the South and by Rajsamand District on the West. The prominent rivers that flows through the district are namely Banas, Bedach, Kothari, Khari, Mansi, Menali, Chandrabhaga and Nagdi. The climate of the district remains extremely hot in the summers and fairly cold in the winters. The actual rainfall in the district was 769.3 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administratively, the district is divided into 12 sub-districts. Moreover, it has 9 towns and 1,834 villages. The district of Bhilwara came into existence in the year 1948 in the state of Rajasthan with an allotted district code of 122. Its district headquarters is located at Bhilwara, 253 km. from the state capital. The administrative language in the district is Hindi.

Demographically, according to 2011 census, the district has a total number of 4,93,597 households with a total population of 24,08,523 including 12,20,736 are males and 11,87,787 are females and in terms of population it occupies the ranks of 10th in the state and 184 in India. The population growth rate during the period 2001 to 2011 was 19.60% including 18.90% were males and 20.33% were females. The density of population of the district is 230 persons per sq km. The sex ratio is pegged at 973 (females per 1000 males) while the child ratio stands at 928 (females per 1000 males). As per 2011 census, the percentage of the major religion practiced by the people of this region is Hindu with 92.37%. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 98.93%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 67,549 out of which 35,497 were males and 32,050 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 19,314 out of which 11,933 were males and 7,375 were females.

Economically, agriculture is the backbone of the district. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 43,36,593 lakhs at current price and Rs. 28,56,179 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 38,55,661 lakh at current price and Rs. 25,13,651 lakh at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 1,39,150 at current price and Rs. 90,717 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The major industry is textiles producing synthetic fabric. First respective unit was started by Shri Laxmi Niwas Jhunjhunwala in the year 1961 at Bhilwara. After that, a number of units came up. Bhilwara is the only city in the country which produces insulation bricks. Large scale mining is done of sandstone, soap stone, iron ore and other minerals like feldspar, quartz, China clay, etc.

According to 2011 census, education wise, the literacy rate in the district is 61.37% out of which 75.27% are males and 47.21% are females. The total literate population of the district is 12,56,126 including 7,77,582 are males and 4,78,544 are females. The district has a number of primary and middle schools, higher secondary and secondary schools, undergraduate and post graduate colleges, engineering colleges (MLVTEC and ITM) and one university namely Sangam University. Name of some educational institutes are Sarvodaya Shikshan Sansthan, Manikya Lal Verma Govt. Textile & Engineering College (an autonomous engineering college) and Institute of Technology and Management etc. Bhilwara city is ranked second in central India region for CA Exams.

The district has a number of attractions for tourists. It has various historical and religious places such as from other places in the year Pur Udan Chatri, Menal, Jataun ka Mandir Temple, Ganesha Temple, Bijolia Fort, Gangapur, Shahpura, Kyara Ke Balaji, Badnore Fort, Mejha Dam, Mandalgarh Fort and Triveni. Pur Udan Chatri is famous for a huge rock which is resting on a small one. Kyara ke Balaji is known for a natural image of Lord Hanuman.