Shelekhov is a Russian town, the administrative center of the Shelekhov District of the Irkutsk Region.

The town is located in the south of the Irkutsko-Cheremkhovskaya Plain, near the river Irkut, 20 km to the southwest of Irkutsk. It has Goncharovo railway station.

The town with the area of 31 sq km has the population of 47 974 people (as of 2013).

History of Shelekhov

It appeared due to construction of an aluminum plant.

In 1956 it became the industrial township of Shelekhov, named after the Russian merchant and path breaker G.I. Shelikhov, the founder of pioneer settlements in the Russian America. In the decree of 1956 about naming the township his surname was written with a spelling mistake: Shelekhov.

Shelekhov has been a town since 1962.

A highway divides the town into two parts – the industrial and residential sections.