A settlement called Chashniky is first mentioned in a manuscript dated 1504. In 1791 this settlement acquired the status of a town when it became centre of the Polotsk voevoede.

There are two versions of how the name Chashniky appeared. The first version says that this name originated from the word “chashka”, a cup, that were made by local potters. The second version attributes this name to the location of the town: in the hills’ valley, as if in a cup of hills.

Chashniky district is located in the southern part of the pre-Dvina area and borders on Minsk region, and is 100 km away from Vitebsk and 200 km away from Minsk.

The District was created in July, 1924. The area of the District is 1.5 thousand square kilometers; the population is about 40 thousand people residing in 211 rural localities and 2 towns: Chashniky and Novoloukoml’. District's government consists of 1 towns’ and 8 villages’ Councils of Deputies.

A distinctive feature of Chashniky district is that the number of town dwellers (26 thousand people) is bigger than the number of people living in villages (14 thousand people), the biggest town is Novoloukoml’ with its 16 thousand dwellers, while the District's centre, Chashniky, only has 10 thousand people. Almost 13 thousand people work in the production sector.