Oshawa is in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It is on the Lake Ontario shoreline, approximately 60 kilometres east of Toronto. Oshawa is often viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe.

The city plays host to three post-secondary institutions (Durham College, Trent University and University of Ontario Institute of Technology).

The name Oshawa comes from the Ojibwaa term aazhaway meaning just across or the crossing place.