It is located in the region Shinyanga, Mara covering an area 1,476,300 hactares and a World Heritage Site at an altitude of 1,200 to 2,177 meters. The Serengeti was designated a protected area in 1940, becoming Tanzania's first National Park in 1951. The Government of Tanzania continues to upgrade the quality of the 'buffer zone' around the Serengeti and established the Grumeti and Ikorongo Game Reserves, an increase in protected status for these areas from the largely ineffective Game Controlled Areas. Lying between Lake Victoria to the west and the Eastern Rift Valley, this famous National Park is part of the East African central plateau.

The park is bordered to the north by the Masai Mara Reserve, to the north-west by the Ikorongo Game Reserve. To the south-west the Serengeti borders the extensive Maswa Game Reserve and to the east Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Land sloping westward from Ngorongoro is primarily short-grass plains. This habitat gives way to long-grass plains and various forms of wooded and bushed grassland to the west and north, dominated by Acacia thorn-trees. There are extensive thickets of Acacia drepanolobium in the south-west and rich riverine forest along the Grumeti River.

Rock kopjes are a feature of the open grassland and rocky hills form ridges in central and western areas. There are few wetlands, but there are many small seasonal rain-fed pools. The park drains westward towards Lake Victoria, the main rivers being the Mbalageti and Grumeti while the larger Mara River passes through the northern section close to the Kenyan border.

An estimated numbers of bird species recorded from the park vary from 458 to 505. Glareolanordmanni and Apaliskaramojae, are of global conservation concern. Ardeolaidae is a regular visitor in low numbers. The status of Circus macrourus is described as locally common. Gallinago media recorded in November and December around rain-fed pools. A remarkable feature of the avifauna is that three Tanzanian endemics occur in substantial numbers yet none has so far been recorded across the Kenya border in the Masai Mara.

Two of these, Francolinusrufopictus and Histurgopsruficauda, are not considered globally threatened. Agapornisfischeri is locally common in mature Acacia woodland, a habitat in which Parusfringillinus is also frequent. Flocks of Prionopspoliolophus have been noted from Acacia robusta woodland along the Duma River and the lower slopes of the Varichoro Hills. Apaliskaramojae occurs in habitat where Acacia drepanolobium is well represented. Phoenicopterus minor are regular visitors to Lake Lagarja, but numbers fluctuate widely depending on water and salinity levels in other Rift Valley lakes as well as in Lagarja. Seasonal pools are important breeding sites for species such as Recurvirostraavosetta and Himantopushimantopus. The park is an important feeding area for Gyps rueppellii