Niwari district used to be a part of Tikamgarh district and on 1 October 2018 it was separated and formed into a new district.
It became the 52nd district of the state. Under this district, 56 Panchayats of Prithvipur Tehsil, 54 Panchayats of Niwari, 17 Panchayats of Orchha were included. Thus a total of 127 gram panchayats have been included here. It is the smallest district of Madhya Pradesh in terms of both population and area.
The Betwa River passes through this district, on the banks of this river Orchha town was established by ancient Kings of Bundelkhand. National Highway 39 and National Highway 44 and National Highway 539 passes through Niwari.