Under the British Raj, Barwani was a state of the Bhopawar Agency, a division of the Central India Agency. The state lay in the Satpura Range south of the Narmada River. It had an area of and a population, in 1901, of 76,136. The average revenue of the state was Rs.4,00,000. The inhabitants were predominantly Bhil tribals. The forests were under a British official.