Badnawar is a township and a nagar panchayat in Dhar district in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. Dhar District is a district of Madhya Pradesh in central India with administrative headquarters at Dhar. The district covers an area 8,153 square kilometres. As boundaries it has the districts of Ratlam to the north, Ujjain to the northeast, Indore to the east, Khargone (West Nimar) to the southeast, Barwani to the south, and Jhabua to the west. This district comprises a part of the Indore Division of Madhya Pradesh. The district has a population of 1,740,577 according to the 2001 census, a rise of 24% from its population of 1,367,412 in 1991. The Vindhya Range runs from east to west through the district. The northern part of the district is situated on the Malwa plateau. The northwestern segment of the district lies in the watershed of the Mahi River and its tributaries, while the northeastern part of the district lies in the watershed of the Chambal River, which flows into the Yamuna River which in turn flows into the Ganges. The fraction of the district lying south of the summit of the Vindhyas lies in the watershed of the Narmada River, which forms the southern boundary of the district.

The exact location of Badnawar is 23.02° North and 75.22° East. It has a mean elevation of 506 metres (1660 feet) above ground level. According to the 2001 census, the population of Badnawar is 17,746. Males and females respectively constitute 53% and 47% of the population. The mean literacy rate of this town is 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. 59% of the males and 41% of females are literate. 16% of the population comprises children below six years of age.