Lintao County is administratively under the control of Dingxi, Gansu province. In ancient times, Lintao was centered around present day Min County.

The county is located mostly on the right (eastern) bank of the Tao River, a right tributary of the Yellow River. It borders with Lanzhou in the northeast, with Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in the west, and with other parts of Dingxi Prefecture-level City in the east and south.

The county seat of Lintao County is in Taoyang Town (洮阳镇); as it is usually the case with Chinese county seats, this is the location that most less-detailed maps label as "Lintao County" or simply "Lintao".

Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao (狄道).

The Battle of Didao was fought in the area in 255 CE, during the Three Kingdoms era.

Located at an important Tao River crossing, Didao City (i.e., today's Taoyang Town) was an important trade center during the Northern Song Dynasty (ca. 11-12th century), when the more northern route of the Silk Route was blocked by the Xi Xia state. It is known to have been home to hundreds of foreign merchants at the time, some of whom may have been the ancestors of today's Hui people of Gansu.