Vishakhapatnam, city and port in southeastern India, in Andhra Pradesh State. Vishakhapatnam lies along a small bay, and its natural harbour is formed by two promontories, the southern one of which is separated from the city by a small river.

Industries include fish freezing, sawmilling, coir (coconut fiber) and hemp processing, sugar milling, distilling, and shipping of manganese, fish, sugar, and oilseed. Improvements to the harbour have made it capable of accommodating ships with a draft of 33.5 feet (10.2 m). The city is also an important shipbuilding centre.

Vishakhapatnam was a mid-17th-century English trading post; it was bombed by the Japanese in 1942, during World War II.

The surrounding area is dominated on the west by the well-forested Eastern Ghats and farther east is drained by numerous rivers, among them the Godavari and Indravati. Population (1991) city, 750,024; metropolitan area, 1,051,918.

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