Grey District is on the West Coast of the South Island. It is a municipality that covers Greymouth, Runanga, Blackball, Cobden and settlements along the Grey River. It has a land area of 3,516.48 square kilometres. Its population is 13,650 (June 2013), of whom 8% are Maori. The seat of the Grey District Council, the local government authority that administers the district, is at Greymouth, where 27% of the district's population live.

The district’s key industries are tourism, mining, agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and services industries.

The world class TranzAlpine train journey links Christchurch to Greymouth. The stretch of coastal road from Westport to Greymouth has been rated by Lonely Planet as one of the ‘top ten coastal drives in the world’ and also takes in the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. Lake Brunner is one of the warmest lakes in the South Island, which is renowned for its trout fishing and is well used throughout the year by locals and visitors alike for a huge range of water based activities.

The mayor of Grey District is Tony Kokshoorn.