Jhalawar district (Rajasthani: झालावाड जिल्हा) is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The district is bounded on the northwest by Kota district, on the northeast by Baran district, on the east by Guna district of Madhya Pradesh state, on the south by Rajgarh and Shajapur districts of Madhya Pradesh state and on the west by Ratlam, Mandsaur and Nimach districts of Madhya Pradesh state. The district occupies an area of 6928 km². The district is part of Kota division. The historical city of Jhalawar is the administrative headquarters of the district.
The name of the district is derived from the erstwhile princely state of Jhalawar (which literally means the abode of the Jhalas, a Rajput clan).
The territory of the present district belonged to the princely state of Jhalawar till India's independence in 1947. This princely state was carved out from another princely state of Kota on April 8, 1838 by a treaty between the British and the rulers of Kota state.
The district lies in the Hadoti region in southeast Rajasthan, on the edge of Malwa Plateau. The Kali Sindh River flows northward through the center of the district.