The Paderborn district is located at the western slope of the Teutoburg Forest, west of the Eggegebirge. The highest elevation is on the side of the Totenkopf (498 m) at the district border near Bleiwäsche (Bad Wünnenberg), the lowest near Delbrück at 77 m. The main river in the district is the Lippe, which has its source in Bad Lippspringe.