Brisbane is the capital of and the most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland,and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland metropolitan region, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.6 million.The Brisbane central business district stands on the historic European settlement and is situated inside a peninsula of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from its mouth at Moreton Bay, a bay of the Coral Sea. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Taylor and D'Aguilar mountain ranges. It sprawls across several of Australia's most populous local government areas (LGAs)—most centrally the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is "Brisbanite", whilst common nicknames include "Brissy", "River City" and "Brisvegas".

One of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. Named after the Brisbane River on which it is located—which in turn takes its name from Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales at the time of the city's founding—the area was chosen as a place for secondary offenders from the Sydney Colony. The Moreton Bay penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the central business district, but was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825, opening to free settlement in 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859. During World War II, Brisbane played a central role in the Allied campaign and served as the South West Pacific headquarters for United States Army General Douglas MacArthur.

A diverse city with 32.2% of its metropolitan population being foreign born, Brisbane is classified as a global city, and ranks highly in ratings of livable cities. Brisbane is well known for its distinct Queenslander architecture which forms much of the city's built heritage. The city is noted for its cuisine brunches, outdoor dining, and rooftop bar scene. Brisbane was also the origin of the Anzac Day tradition through the works of Canon David John Garland. Several large cultural, international and sporting events have been held at Brisbane, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo '88, the final Goodwill Games in 2001, and the 2014 G-20 summit. A transportation hub, Brisbane is served by a large suburban rail network, popular bus and ferry networks as well as Australia's third-busiest airport and seaport.

Brisbane is a popular tourist destination, serving as a gateway to the state of Queensland, particularly to the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, which are home to numerous popular surf beaches, located immediately south and north of Brisbane respectively. Major landmarks and attractions include South Bank Parklands, the Queensland Cultural Centre (including the Queensland Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and State Library of Queensland), City Hall, the Story Bridge, the City Botanic Gardens and Parliament of Queensland, the Howard Smith Wharves, ANZAC Square, Fortitude Valley (including James Street and Chinatown), West End, the Teneriffe woolstores precinct, Roma Street Parkland, New Farm Park (including the Brisbane Powerhouse), St John's Cathedral, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the Mount Coot-tha Lookout and Botanic Gardens, the D'Aguilar Range and National Park, the Brisbane River and its Riverwalk network, as well as Moreton Bay (including Moreton, North Stradbroke and Bribie islands, and coastal suburbs such as Shorncliffe, Wynnum and those on the Redcliffe Peninsula).

• Brisbane is named after a former New South Wales governor who established the city’s original penal settlement in the 1820s. Sir Thomas Brisbane
  Known for its A-League, Rugby and Rugby League clashes, Suncorp Stadium is actually built on the site of the city’s first cemetery, established in the 1840s
   
• Brisbane was the busiest submarine port in the world during World War II. By December 1943, Brisbane was host to over 75,000 American troops
  Brisbane City Hall is the largest city hall in Australia. The clock tower of City Hall is 92m high, with an observation platform at 76m
  North Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island are the second and third-largest sand islands in the world
   
• Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was the first man to fly across the Pacific and land in Brisbane. Brisbane born, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith left Oakland, California in 1928 bound for Australia
   

Unlike other Australian capital cities, a large portion of the greater metropolitan area, or Greater Capital City Statistical Area of Brisbane is controlled by a single local government area, the City of Brisbane. Since the creation of the City of Brisbane in 1925 the urban areas of Brisbane have expanded considerably past the council boundaries. The City of Brisbane local government area is by far the largest local government area in Australia, serving more than 40% of the GCCSA's population. It was formed by the merger of twenty smaller LGAs in 1925, and covers an area of 1,367 km2 . There is a directly-elected Lord Mayor, and a council composed of councillors representing 26 wards. City Hall is the seat of the Brisbane City Council, whilst the bulk of its executive offices are located at the Brisbane Square skyscraper. Following local government elections on 28 April 2012, the Lord Mayor and 18 councillors are members of the Liberal National Party while 7 are from the Labor Party with 1 independent. The day-to-day management of Council's operations is the responsibility of the chief executive officer who is currently Colin Jensen.

Elections are held every four years with ballots for the Lord Mayoralty and the individual councillors being held simultaneously. Voting is compulsory for all eligible electors. The election in March 2004 resulted in the unusual situation of Liberal Lord Mayor Campbell Newman co-existing with a Labor majority on Council and a Labor Deputy Mayor, though this resulted in remarkably few conflicts over civic budgets and Council policy. The LNP gained a 5.5% swing on the councillor votes in the March 2008 election, resulting in the Liberals taking control of the council as well . Graham Quirk won re-election as Lord Mayor in 2012 with 61.94% of the vote and the LNP gained an additional 3 wards. The last election was held on 19 March 2016. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk defeated Labor's candidate Rod Harding. All LGAs within the metropolitan area have a similar structure to the City of Brisbane LGA.

As the capital city of Queensland, Brisbane is home to the Parliament of Queensland at Parliament House at Gardens Point in the CBD, adjacent to Old Government House. Queensland's current Government House is located in Paddington. The bulk of the state government's executive offices are located at the 1 William Street skyscraper. The Queensland Supreme and District courts are located at the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law in George Street, while the Magistrates court is located at the adjacent Brisbane Magistrates Court building. The various federal courts are loced at the Commonwealth Law Courts building on North Quay, Brisbane. The Australian Army's Enoggera Barracks is located in Enoggera, while the historic Victoria Barracks in Petrie Terrace now hosts a military museum. The Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Moreton base is located at Bulimba. The Royal Australian Air Force's RAAF Base Amberley is located in Amberley in the outer south-west of the metropolitan area.

Brisbane is Australia's New World City, with a $154 billion economy. On Australia's eastern seaboard, it is the closest capital city to Asia. The city's key sectors include mining and resources, information and communication technology, scientific innovation, creative industries, food and beverage, higher education, tourism infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics and distribution and aviation. Most major Australian companies and many international companies have offices in Brisbane, providing students with access to exciting job opportunities with some of the world's most well-known organisations.

Categorised as a global city, Brisbane is among Asia-Pacific cities with largest GDPs and is one of the major business hubs in Australia, with strengths in mining, banking, insurance, transportation, information technology, real estate and food. Brisbane throughout its history has been one of Australia's most important seaport cities. The Port of Brisbane located at the Brisbane River's mouth on Moreton Bay and on the adjacent Fisherman's Island, created by means of land reclamation. It is the 3rd busiest port in Australia for value of goods.

Container freight, sugar, grain, coal and bulk liquids are the major exports. Most of the port facilities are less than three decades old and some are built on reclaimed mangroves and wetlands. The Port is a part of the Australia TradeCoast, which includes the Brisbane Airport along with large industrial estates located along both banks at the mouth of the Brisbane River.White-collar industries include information technology, financial services, higher education and public sector administration generally concentrated in and around the central business district and satellite hubs located in the inner suburbs such as South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill, Milton and Toowong.

Blue-collar industries, including petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper milling, metalworking and QR railway workshops, tend to be located on the lower reaches of the Brisbane River proximal to the Port of Brisbane and in new industrial zones on the urban fringe. Tourism is an important part of the Brisbane economy, both in its own right and as a gateway to other areas of Queensland, as international education, with over 95,000 international students enrolled in universities and other tertiary education institutions in the central Brisbane City Council local government area alone in 2018.

Retail in the CBD is centred around the Queen Street Mall, which is Australia's largeest pedestrian mall. Shopping centres in the CBD include the Myer Centre, the Wintergarden, MacArthur Central and QueensPlaza, with the last of these along with Edward Street forming the city's focus for luxury brands. There are historical shopping arcades at Brisbane Arcade and Tattersalls Arcade. Fortitude Valley adjacent to the CBD, and in particular James Street, is also a major inner-city retail hub.

Brisbane has an extensive transportation network within the city, as well as connections to regional centres, interstate and to overseas destinations. Like all Australian cities, the most popular mode of transport is private car. Public transport is provided by rail, bus and ferry services and is co-ordinated by TransLink, which provides a unified ticketing and electronic payment system for South East Queensland. The region is divided into seven fare zones radiating outwards from the Brisbane central business district , with Brisbane's built-up area falling within zones 1–3. Bus services are operated by public and private operators whereas trains and ferries are operated by public agencies. The CBD is the central hub for all public transport services with services focusing on Roma Street, Central and Fortitude Valley railway stations; King George Square, Queen Street and Roma Street busway stations; and North Quay, Riverside and QUT Gardens Point ferry wharves.

Brisbane is served by a large network of urban and inter-urban motorways. The Pacific Motorway connects the inner-city with the southern suburbs,Gold Coast and New South Wales. The Ipswich Motorway connects the inner-city with the outer south-western suburbs. The Western Freeway and Centenary Motorway connect the city's inner-west and outer south-west. The Bruce Highway and Gympie Arterial Road connect the city's northern suburbs with the Sunshine Coast and northern Queensland. The Logan Motorway connects the southern and south-western suburbs. The Gateway Motorway is a toll road which connects the Gold and Sunshine Coast. The Port of Brisbane Motorway links the Gateway Motorway to the Port of Brisbane. The Inner City Bypass and Riverside Expressway serve as an inner ring freeway system to prevent motorists from travelling through the city's congested centre.Brisbane also has a large network of major road tunnels under the metropolitan area, known as the TransApex network, which include the Clem Jones Tunnel between the inner-north and inner-south, the Airport Link tunnel in the north-east and the Legacy Way tunnel in the south-west. The three Houghton Highway bridges, over Bramble Bay between Brighton and the Redcliffe Peninsula, are the longest bridges in the state.

The Queensland Rail City network consists of 152 train stations along 13 suburban rail lines and across the metropolitan area, namely: the Airport line; the Beenleigh line; the Caboolture line; the Cleveland line; the Doomben line; the Exhibition line; the Ferny Grove line; the Ipswich/Rosewood line; the Redcliffe Peninsula line; the Shorncliffe line; and the Springfield line. The network extends to the Gold and Sunshine coasts, which are fully integrated into the network on the Gold Coast line and Sunshine Coast line. The Airtrain service which runs on the Airport line is jointly operated between the City of Brisbane and Brisbane Airport.

55 million passenger trips were taken across the network in 2018–19. Construction of the network began in 1865 and has been progressively expanded in the subsequent centuries. Electrification of the network was completed between 1979 and 1988. The Cross River Rail project includes a twin rail tunnel 5.9 kilometres which will pass under the Brisbane River to link two new railway stations at Albert Street in the CBD and Wooloongabba is under construction and scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Brisbane has a large dedicated bus rapid transit network, the Brisbane busway network. The network comprises the South East Busway, the Northern Busway and the Eastern Busway. The main network hubs are theKing George Square, Queen Street, and Roma Street busway stations. There are also numerous suburban bus routes operating throughout the metropolitan area, including the high-frequency Blue and Maroon CityGlider routes which run between Newstead and West End , and Ashgrove and Stones Corner respectively.

Transdev Brisbane Ferries operates three ferry services along the Brisbane River, CityCat, CityFerry and CityHopper. Brisbane's ferries, and particularly its catamaran CityCats, are considered iconic to the city.

The CityCat high-speed catamaran ferry service, popular with tourists and commuters, operates services along the Brisbane River between the University of Queensland and Northshore Hamilton, with wharves at UQ St Lucia, West End, Guyatt Park, Regatta, Milton, North Quay, South Bank, QUT Gardens Point, Riverside, Sydney Street, Mowbray Park, New Farm Park, Hawthorne, Bulimba, Teneriffe, Bretts Wharf, Apollo Road and Northshore Hamilton. It is located north-east of the city centre on Moreton Bay and provides domestic and international passenger services. In the 2017, Brisbane Airport handled over 23 million passengers.

The airport is an airline hub for Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Tigerair Australia as well as a number of minor and freight airlines. The airport is served by the Airtrain service which runs on the Airport line, providing a direct service to the CBD. Archerfield Airport in Brisbane's southern suburbs and Redcliffe Airport on the Redcliffe Peninsula serve Brisbane as general aviation airports. Brisbane is also served by other major airports in South East Queensland, including Gold Coast Airport at Coolangatta, Sunshine Coast Airport at Marcoola and Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport at Wellcamp. The Port of Brisbane is located at the mouth of the Brisbane River on Moreton Bay and on the adjacent Fisherman's Island, an artificial island created by land reclamation. It is the third busiest port in Australia for value of goods. The port is the endpoint of the main shipping channel across Moreton Bay which extends 90 kilometres north near Mooloolaba. The port has 29 operating berths including nine deep-water container berths and three deep-water bulk berths as well as 17 bulk and general cargo berths.

There are two cruise ship terminals in Brisbane. Portside Wharf at Hamilton is an international standard facility for cruise liners. Due to the height of the Gateway Bridge which must be passed to reacch the terminal, the wharf services small and medium-sized cruise ships. The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal at Luggage Point in Pinkenba is able to accommodate the largest cruise vessels in the world, and will be opened in 2020.

Brisbane is covered by Queensland Health's «Metro North» and «Metro South» health services. Within the greater Brisbane area there are eight major public hospitals, four major private hospitals, and numerous smaller public and private facilities.