Kurnool District (Telugu: కర్నూలు జిల్లా, Urdu: کُرنول ضلع) is a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, located in the west-central part of the state on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers. The town of Kurnool is currently the headquarters of the district. It had a population of 3,529,494 of which 23.16% were urban as of 2001.

    In 12th century AD, the Odder, who carted stones for the construction of the temple at Alampur, Mahaboobnagar District, on the left bank of the River Tungabhadra, used the site where the town now stands as a stopping place before crossing the Tungabhadra. They greased their cart wheels with oil supplied by local oil merchants and called the place 'Kandanavolu' which in course of time came to be known as Kurnool.

    Of historical interest are the ruins of a royal fort dating back to the medieval kingdom of Vijayanagar, which flourished from the 14th to the 16th century. Several Persian and Arabic inscriptions which throw light on various aspects of historical interests are found here.

    Damodaram Sanjeevaiah (1st dalit Chief Minister of India and A.P), Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy 10th Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha rao was elected as member of parliament from Nandyal constituency with over 6 lakh (600,000) majority, a world record.