Madurai district is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters. It houses the world famous Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple and is situated on the banks of river Vaigai. Thiruparankundram is one of the major tourist place in the district. Kazimar Periya Pallivasal and Madurai Maqbara in Kazimar Street are the oldest and major Islamic symbols in the city.

Madurai, also known as "Athens of the East". The main kingdoms which ruled Madurai during various times are the Pandyas and the Nayaks. Madurai is nicknamed "Thoonga Nagaram", roughly translated as, "city that never sleeps". Madurai is called as temple city

Madurai district comprises 13 Blocks.The Blocks become the best part of administration due to the number of villages in the district where rural administration is done by the Block hq. The Blocks are sub-divided by Firkas

Madurai district comprises seven Taluks.

According to the 2011 census Madurai district has a population of 3,041,038, roughly equal to the nation of Oman or the US state of Iowa. This gives it a ranking of 119th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 823 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,130 /sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 17.95 %. Madurai has a sex ratio of 990 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 81.66 %.

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a population of over 1 million (according to the 2001 census). Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. The capital of the Pandyan kingdom was initially Korkai, around 600 BCE, and was later moved to Koodal (now Madurai) during the reign of Nedunj Cheliyan I. Madurai is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and Madurai Nayak kings in the Dravidian style of architecture. It is also one of India's most prominent Hindu pilgrimage centres.

Madurai is also called as City of Junction (Koodal nagaram), City of Jasmine (Malligai maanagar), Temple city (Koil maanagar), City that never sleeps (Thoonga nagaram) and City of four junctions (Naanmada koodal).

Madurai's recorded history goes back to the 3rd century BC and the city is mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India and Kautilya, the minister of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The city was the principal administrative and cultural centre of the Pandyan dynasty which ruled over the southern parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala till the first half of the 14th century AD. In about 1311, the Pandyan dynasty was overthrown by the Delhi Sultanate which established the province of Ma'bar which later became independent as the Ma'bar Sultanate. When the Ma'bar Sultanate began to decline in the latter years of the 14th century, Madurai was absorbed into the Vijayanagar Empire. The viceroys of the Vijayanagar Empire established the Madurai Nayak kingdom and ruled as independent kings from 1559 to 1736. After a brief period of occupation by Chanda Sahib and the Carnatic kingdom, Madurai was annexed by the British East India Company in 1801.

Haroon Rasheed Dar (born March 25, 1953, Karachi) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 23 Tests and 12 ODIs from 1977 to 1983. He has also remained the manager of the Pakistan Cricket team and has been credited with the discovery of Waqar Younis and Shahid Khan Afridi.