Mehri district was established on September 9, 1930. The center of the district with an area of 664 km² was the city of Mehri (Meghri, Mighri). The distance from there to Iravan is 264 km. It borders Zangilan district from the east, Ordubad district from the west, Gafan district from the north, and South Azerbaijan from the south. The Megri River flows through the region and flows into Aras.

The territory of the district was historically included in the Zangezur district of the Iravan khanate, and during Tsarist Russia it was part of the Zangezur district of Yelizavetpol (Ganja) governorate.

Since 1987, the native inhabitants of the district – Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their places of residence, and the deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia ended with the expulsion of the last Azerbaijani population of Nuvedi village in 1991.

In 1995, the district was abolished and included in the administrative territory of the Syunik province of Armenia.