Karur District (Tamil: கரூர் மாவட்டம்) is located center along the Kaveri & Amaravathi rivers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The main town in Karur District is the city of Karur, which is also the district headquarter. It had a population of 10,76,588 as of 2011. It is 33.27% urbanized as per Census 2001. The district has a literacy of 81.74%.

Karur is one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu and has played a very significant role in the history and culture of the Tamils. Its history dates back over 3000 years, and has been a flourishing trading center even in the early Sangam days. In the ancient and medieval times, the area was ruled by the Cheras, Gangas and Cholas. Karur was the capital of Cheras.The Pasupatheesvarar Temple sung by Thirugnana Sambhandar, in Karur was built by the Chola kings in the 7th century. Later the Nayakars followed by Tipu Sultan also ruled Karur. The British added Karur to their possessions after destroying the Karur Fort during their war against Tipu Sultan in 1783. There is a memorial at Rayanur near Karur for the warriors who lost their lives in the fight against the British in the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Thereafter Karur became part of British India and was first part of Coimbatore District and later Tiruchirappalli District. Karur is also a part of Kongu Nadu. The history of Kongu Nadu dates back to the 8th century. The name Kongunadu originated from the term "Kongu", meaning nectar or honey. Kongu came to be called as Kongu nadu with the growth of civilization. The ancient Kongunadu country was made up of various districts and taluks which are currently known as Palani, Dharapuram, Karur, Nammakkal, Thiruchengodu, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Satyamangalam, Nilgiris, Avinashi, Coimbatore, Pollachi and Udumalpet.

Karur is a large town, municipality and head of the Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long history and has been sung by various sangam poets. It has been the battleground of various Tamil Kings like Chera, Chola and Pandya because of its strategic location in Kongu Nadu. The district has a very rich and varied cultural heritage. The town and the country side is made fertile by the perennial flows of the Kaveri River on the northern side(Thavittupalayam, Vangal, Muniyappanur, Kattalai (confluence of Kaveri River and Amaravati River) Mayanur, Kulithalai) and also the Amaravati, Nalkasi, Kudaganar and Noyyal rivers. The area is famous worldwide for its hand-loom textile products.

Karur is one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu and has played a very significant role in the history and culture of the Tamils. Its history dates back over 2000 years, and has been a flourishing trading center in the early Sangam days. It was ruled by the Cheras, Gangas, Cholas, the Vijayanagara Nayaks, Mysore and the British successively.