Xiamen is located at latitude 24°25'- 24°55' north and longitude 117°53'- 118°27' east. Situated in the southeast of Fujian and at the mouth of Jiulong River, it is bordering the flatland of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou and facing Jinmen Islands, Taiwan and Pescadores across the Taiwan Strait. Covering a land area of 1565.09 square kilometers and a maritime domain of 300 square kilometers, the city consists of Xiamen Island, Gulang Island, Tongan and coastal regions along the north shore of Jiulong River. As the principal part of Xiamen, Xiamen Island is 13.7 kilometers long from south to north and 12.5 kilometers wide from east to west. Covering a total area of 128.14 square kilometers, Xiamen Island is the fourth largest island in Fujian.

Xiamen governs Siming, Huli, Jimei, Haicang, Tongan and Xiangan. The urban population mainly consists of the Han nationality, as well as over 20 minority nationalities as Hui, Man, Zhuang, She, Miao and Gao-Shan. Owing to its geographical location and historical background, there are extensive returned overseas Chinese, relatives of overseas Chinese, native overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.