Bhavnagar, city, south-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies on the western shore of the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) of the Arabian Sea.
Bhavnagar was founded in 1723. It grew to be an important commercial and industrial centre, with spinning and weaving mills, metalworks, tile and brick factories, sawmills, an iron foundry, and a chemical plant. The city is connected with the main Western Railway system and has a port for small vessels to the north. It is the site of the Gandhi Museum, the Barton Library and Museum, the Takhteshwar Temple, and the Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute.
The surrounding region at one time constituted the princely state of Bhavnagar and was part of the Western India States agency (1944–47). After Indian independence in 1947, Bhavnagar was merged into the new state of Saurashtra, which now forms part of Gujarat state. The chief agricultural products of the surrounding region are cotton and grains; salt is processed. Pop. (2001) 511,085; (2011) 593,368.