Mansa district was formed on 13th April 1992 from the erst while district of Bathinda. Mansa is a small district both in terms of population and area. It is situated on the rail line between Bathinda-Jind-Delhi section and also situated on Barnala-Sardulgarh-Sirsa Road.

The town is said to have been founded by Bhai Gurdas who hailed from Dhingar, Distt. Mansa. He is said to have been married at this place among the Dhaliwal Jat Sikh. Once he came to his in-laws to take his wife alongwith him but they refused to send her. At this, Bhai Gurdas sat in meditation before the house of his in-laws. After some time, the parents of the girl agreed to send their daughter with Bhai Gurdas. But he refused to take her alongwith him, stating that he had now renounced the worldly way of life. In his memory, his Smadh was constructed where a fair is held every year in March-April. People in large numbers attend the fair and offer Laddus and Gur at Smadh. Class ‘A’municipality has been functioning in the town since 1952.

Mansa is situated in the cotton belt of Punjab and therefore fondly called the "Area of white gold". Indeed agriculture forms the backbone of the district economy. During the months of November and December a visitor to this part of Punjab shall be the proud witness to the pristine, milky white bloom of cotton, as nature blossoms in her full glory. The view is indeed breath taking. While traversing the countryside, one gets a feeling of sailing through clouds. The population is Punjabi-speaking and is wedded to the culture of the Malwa belt of Punjab. Industrially, the district is very deficient, yet some trade and industry is being carried out in Urban areas

The district is spread over 2,174 sq.kms, having a total population of 5,80,397 as per 1991 census amounting to 2.9% of the total population of Punjab. In Mansa District, River Ghaggar flows through distance of 15 Kms and Sirhind Drain passes through the entire district and has its out-fall in river Ghaghar.

The town has two Colleges, viz. Govt. Nehru Memorial Post Graduate College and S.D. Kanya Mahavidyala College, 3 Senior Secondary School, 90 High School, 1 Middle School and 1 Primary School and one Distt. Library and has one civil hospital, 3 dispencaries and 1 Ayurvedic and 1 Homeopathic dispencary. There are two police stations i.e. PS City and PS Sadar and also a railway station.