Bhiwandi is a city, in the district of Thane, in the western state of Maharashtra, in India, located 60 km to the north-east of Mumbai and 15 km to the north-east of Thane city. The exact location of Bhiwandi is 19.293831° N 73.065839° E.

Bhiwandi city, the headquarters of the taluka of Bhiwandi, comes under the administration of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation. The city is considered a part of the Greater Bombay metropolitan agglomeration, along with New Bombay and the cities of Kalyan, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar and the Vasai-Virar region. According to the 2001 census, the total population of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation area was 598,703.

The city of Bhiwandi, known for its textile industry, has the largest number of powerlooms in the country and is sometimes dubbed as 'The Manchester of India'. A major portion of the population is employed by the powerloom sector. The Mumbai-Agra highway(NH-3), passing through Bhiwandi ensures the smooth connectivity of the city with Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and the rest of India.

In the early twentieth century, Bhiwandi was a small town, inhabited by Maharashtrians and Konkani Muslims. The main occupation of the people at that time was agriculture, fishing and handlooms. With the advent of electricity, the handlooms began to be fast replaced by powerlooms. Bhiwandi used to have a port on the river known as Kamwadi river during 16th century the port was situated at area known as Bunder Mohalla. There was trading business of woods & Spices. There used to be a regular business & merchant used to travel frequently. At that period of time merchant was called as "Saudagar" the area used to refer as Saudagar Mohalla. The labour who work for shipping building used to live at place today called as Sutar bada & Hamal bada. The worker who navigate the ship used to live at place today known as Tandel mohalla. In Moghul period Bhiwandi city was known by the name of "Islamabad". They built Mosque by the name of Islamabad Masjid & buit Eidgah situated at Eidgah road. It became a hub of the textile industry in the 1930s. The credit for turning Bhiwandi into a textile city goes to one Haji Abdus Samad, an illiterate trader from Uttar Pradesh. "Sona becho aur loha kharido (sell gold and buy iron)" was his slogan.

Bhiwandi lies in the Konkan coastal lowlands. There are many hills surrounding Bhiwandi, which add to its scenic beauty. The average elevation is 24 m. The Vharala Devi Lake is the largest lake in Bhiwandi.