Alhaurín el Grande is located on the north side of the Sierra de Mijas at a height of 326 meters above sea level, with a benign climate of mild winters and hot summers and more than a third of the days per year have sunshine. It is 29 km from Málaga and 18 km from Marbella.

Its inhabitants are known as alhaurinos or laurinos. It is the thirteenth largest city in the entire province of Málaga in population, second only to coastal municipalities, the cities of Ronda and Antequera and nearby Alhaurin de la Torre (2009). It has a population around 25,000, but there is a large presence of foreigners settled in the town, estimated to represent nearly 5% of the total population. It also contains the neighborhoods of Chorro or San. Anton, el Bajondillo, San Isidro or Camino de Coin, la Huerta or el Barrio del Alemán, la Fama or the neighborhood of Palustre, plus several developments such as La Paca, La Chíchara, El Cigarral or Sierra Gorda and the hamlet of Villafranco del Guadalhorce.