Pangbourne is situated on the A329 road 6 miles (10 km) west of Reading, its nearest town and 22 miles (35 km) south east of Oxford on the River Thames and is across the river from the small developed cluster of the Oxfordshire village of Whitchurch-on-Thames. The two villages are connected by both Whitchurch Bridge and by the traversable weir of Whitchurch Lock, though the latter is not for public use.

Pangbourne railway station is a minor stop on the Great Western Main Line and has stopping services to Oxford via Didcot Parkway and London Paddington via Reading two stops away. The River Pang flows through the centre of Pangbourne village before joining the Thames between Whitchurch Lock and Whitchurch bridge. Its water voles are thought to have inspired author Kenneth Grahame's character Ratty and his book The Wind in the Willows. Most of the developed area is just above the current flood plain of the River Thames which benefits from hay meadows traditionally used as flood meadows to either side of Pangbourne. Fewer than 15 properties here flooded during the Winter storms of 2013-14 in the United Kingdom.