The region is located in the eastern part of central Italy. Its borders are formed by the Apennine Mountains (west), the Adriatic Sea (east) and the rivers Tronto (north) and Trigno (south). The Abruzzi border on the regions Marche (north), Lazio (west) and Molise (south).

The region has three very different landscapes: mountains, hills and coastline.

The mountains to the west have the highest summits of the Apennine Mountains in three parallel mountain ranges. In the east there are the massif of the Gran Sasso, the Monti della Laga, and the Maiella. The central mountain range includes the Velino, the Sirente and the Monti della Meta; the western range comprises the Monti Simbruini.
The mountains slope towards the sea over rolling hills with wide plateaus until they reach the sea.

The lowlands just consist of a narrow coastline strip and some basins like those of Fucino, Sulmona and L’Aquila, which are drained lakes. Rivers are short because of the territorial nature but carry a relatively constant amount of water. The Liri flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea after merging with the Garigliano. The rivers Tronto, Vomano, Pescara with tributaries Sagittario und Aterno flow into the Adriatic Sea.

The coastline is flat and straight, except in the south where its course is more irregular due to many bays and headlands.

The climate on the coastline is Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters and alpine winters in the Apennine Mountains with cold winters.