Zheleznogorsk is located in the western suburb of Central Russian Upland, near the railway station Mikhailovsky Rudnik, at the distance of 130 km to the northwest of Kursk.

The town with the area of 112 square km has the population of 95.139 people as of January, 1st, 2011.

It was founded in 1957 in connection with development of the Mikhailovsky deposit of iron ores of Kursk magnetic anomaly. Building of settlement houses was started on October, 2nd, 1957. In 1962 the settlement with population of 16.5 thousand people received the status of a town.