Mykolaiv is arguably the main shipbuilding center of the Black Sea. Aside from three shipyards within the city, there are a number of research centers specializing in shipbuilding such as the State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center, Zoria-Mashproekt and others.

Mykolaiv is located on a peninsula in Ukraine's steppe region 65 kilometers (40 mi) from the Black Sea along the estuary of the Southern Bug river (where it meets the Inhul River).

Both the Inhul River and the Southern Bug River follow very winding courses just before they join at the northeast corner of Mykolaiv. This has created several long and narrow peninsulas just north of Mykolaiv, and the main part of Mykolaiv is itself on a peninsula at a 180-degree bend in the Southern Bug River.

Mykolaiv is in a primarily flat terrain area (the steppe grain-producing region of southern Ukraine). The nearest mountains to Mykolaiv are 300 kilometres (186 miles) south, at the southern end of the Crimean Peninsula. The lack of any mountain barriers north of Mykolaiv means that very cold Arctic winds can blow south, unimpeded by any terrain elevation, to Mykolaiv in winter.

The area of the city is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi).

There are three performing arts theaters in Mykolaiv: the Academic Ukrainian Theater of Drama and Musical Comedy, the Mykolaiv State Puppet Theater, and the Mykolaiv Academic Art Russian Drama Theater. In addition, the Mykolaiv Oblast Philharmonic performs in the city.

Mykolaiv has the following museums: Mykolayiv Regional Museum of Local History, The Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet, the Museum of the World War II Partisan Movement, the V. V. Vereshchagin Art Museum.

Three movie theaters operate in Mykolaiv: Rodina (Motherland), Pioneer, Multiplex. Movies shown include the latest Hollywood films dubbed into Ukrainian and modern Russian films.