Dholpur or Dhawalpuri was established in 700 AD by Raja Dholan Dev Tomar and most likely the name of city was changed to Dholpur after him. His descendant Raja Dhawal Deo built the new town of Dholpur in 1050 AD. Interestingly, their descendants are still residing in the place and they ruled many small chieftainships in Morena and Gwalior till independence. A country located between Chambal and Banganga was ruled by him. The Dholeshwar Mahadev Temple constructed by the king was unfortunately washed away in Chambal floods of 1868 AD. After sometime the Tomars lost their sovereignty to Jadu's of Karauli. The famous fort of this place named Dholpur fort was made by the Raja of Karauli named Dharampal in 1120 A.D. During the period of Mughal rule, Mohammed Jaifoon announced himself as the ruler of Dholpur. Later, on the order of the Mughal ruler Babur, Junniad Barlas went to the place of Dholpur, who crushed the rebellion and soon took over the administration of Dholpur in his own hands. Finally the British rule started and at that period of time it was a significant part of the Rajputana Agency until India got its independence. Kesarbagh palace, the earlier mansion of the ruler of the erstwhile Dholpur State is now used as the Dholpur Military School.

Tanveer-Ul-Haq, born on December 3rd, 1991, in Dhoulpur, is an Indian first class cricketer who plays for Rajasthan.

The district covers geographical area of 3,033 sq km. and occupies ranks 33rd in the state and 399th in India on the basis of the territorial size. As per data recorded in the year 2021, there was a total 13.82% of the total geographical area of the district. Waste land is 861.64 sq km. The district is bordered by Bharatpur district and Uttar Pradesh to the North, Madhya Pradesh to South, Karauli district to the west and Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in the East. The prominent rivers that flows through the district are Chambal and Gambhir. The hottest months of the region are May and June which are normally higher than 40°c. The coldest months of the region are December and January which reach near zero and sub zero levels. It lies at 26°69'N latitude, 77°88'E longitude and 177 m altitude. The actual rainfall in the district was 809.0 mm in the year of 2021-22.

The Dholpur district came into existence year 1979. The administrative headquarters of the district is located at Dholpur, situated at a distance of 265 km. from the state capital. The district has four sub-divisions as Dholpur, Bari, Rajakhera and Baseri. It has 5 sub-districts namely Dholpur, Badi,Rajakhera, Basedi and Saipau. It has 4 towns and 819 villages. Hindi is the administrative language of the district.

According to census, the district is home to a total number of 2,02,184 households with a total population of 12,06,516 out of which 6,53,647 are males and 5,52,869 are females causing it to rank 28th in the state and 395 in India. The population growth rate during the period 2001 to 2011 was 22.71% with 21.47% were males and 24.20% were females. The density of population of the district is 398 persons per sq km. The sex ratio is 846 (females per 1000 males) while the child ratio stands at 857 (females per 1000 males). As per 2011 census the percentage of major religion practiced by the people of this region is Hindu with 93.45% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 99.82% of the total population. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 32,107 out of which 16,596 were males and 15,511 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 6,561 out of which 4,274 were males and 2,287 were females.

The main source of income for the people of this region comes from agriculture either through cultivation of their own pieces of land or from working as laborers on a daily wage rate or contractual rate on the land of their neighbors or counterparts. Few cottage industries are also exist in the region such as pottery weaving etc. quarrying of building stone was also done in many places of the district which provided employment to the comparatively large number of persons of Baseri, Samathura Baroli, Bari. Quarried is mainly done by hands with the help of hammer, chisel and iron bars etc. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 11,62,369 lakhs at current price and Rs. 7,49,735 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 10,58,590 lakh at current price and Rs. 6,75,930 lakh at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 76,266 at current price and Rs. 48,697 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012.

According to 2011 census, the literacy rate is 69.08% out of which 81.22% are males and 54.67 % are females. The total literate population of the district is 6,83,098 including 4,35,721 are males and 2,47,377 are females. The district has numerous educational institutes for example R. D. Institute of Computer education, techno World computer Institute, AVM Institute, G education IT and Management and Vansh Higher educational Institute etc. Dholpur Military School is one of the five military schools of India. It was established in 1962 by former Defence Minister Late Shree Krishna Menon.

Manoj Rajoria is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha from Karauli Dholpur. He won the Indian general election of 2014 as BJP candidate.

The district has a number of historical and religious places such as Shergarh Fort, Ramsagar Sanctuary, Machkund Temple, Van Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary, and Khanpur Mahal which attract the tourist from worldwide.