In the east the Chukotka Peninsula borders on Alaska, on the south – on the Koryak autonomous district, in the south-west – on the Magadan region and in the north-west – on the Yakutia-Sakha Republic. In the north the Chukotka shores are washed with the East Siberian and the Chukchi Seas of the Arctic Ocean.

The landscape of Chukotka is dominated by tundra interspersed with low mountains, with some areas of taiga in the south and west. The wildlife found in Chukotka includes caribou, wolves, bears, Arctic fox, walrus, seals, whales, cranes, and a variety of Arctic birds. Summer temperatures (in degrees Farenheit) can reach the mid-seventies in July (less in the north), and can dip below -40 in the winter. It is not the coldest region in Russia; in neighboring Sakha, to the west, the lows drop below -70 Farenheit. Strong winds blow in the eastern parts and snow storms can sometimes last for many days. Summer is very short, rainy and cold, in some places the snow never melts.

Extremely water-logged Anadyr lowland lies in the central part of the region. Anadyr plateau, the center of the most important ridges and rivers which diverge in all directions, lies north-west of Anadyr. In the very South of the Okrug there is another large upland – Koryak. The South-West of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is occupied with the eastern part of Yukagir plateau with altitudes from 500 to 700 meters. In the northern part, along the sea coast there are Cheunsk and Vankaremsk lowlands.

Chukotka has large reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, gold, and tungsten, which are slowly being exploited. The urban population is employed in mining, administration, construction, cultural work, education, and medicine.