Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography was founded in 1933 on the basis of the Department of Geography at Tbilisi State University. Some Attempts of establishing of geographical establishments in Georgia were undertaken even earlier. The initiator and inspirer of this was Alexander Javakhishvili the founder of Geographical science and Georgian school of Geography, academician of Georgian Academy of Sciences.

Today the institute of geography is a scientific-research structural unit of the Iv Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
The goal of the institute is to facilitate the effective management of scientific- research and learning processes in the field of geography, implementation of international standards and training of scientific staff. The mission of the Institute is mainly to carry out fundamental and also applied scientific-research, consulting and expert activities, to realize applied works commissioned by the state or private sector.
In the scientific-research subject of the Institute of Geography, the primary focus is on the registration, study and evaluation of the natural disasters, natural and social resources of Georgia.
The activity program of the Institute of Geography includes the study of natural and social potential in the following areas:
a) Relief (geomorphologic - glacial, speleological); b) Climatic; c) Water; d) Landscape-ecological; e) Geopolitical: territory size, configuration, location, institutional arrangement, security types (strategic, economic, social, ecological, cultural, etc.); f) Historical-cultural potential; g) Demographic; h) Economic; i) Recreational (tourist, sports); j) Cartography- GIS technologies.
The results of the scientific research outputs of the Institute have both the fundamental and applied nature.
With the immediate participation of the staff of the Institute of Karstology and Speleology, more than 1500 caves and abysses of Georgia were discovered and studied, including the famous caves of Akhali Athoni and Tskaltubo (Kumistavi). The research results were considered while designing landscaping projects of the mentioned caves for tourism purposes.
The Institute is the only organization where Georgian National Atlases (1964, 2012, 2018), digital maps of the territory of Georgia of different size and scale were prepared and published; A series of Georgian regional atlases is currently being compiled.
From the historical geography points of view, special attention is maid on the recording and comparing of toponyms with the geographical names mentioned in historical sources. This gives possibility to determine the location of old, lost geographical names. The Institute cooperates with the Toponymy Identification Commission under the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The Institute periodically publishes the Proceedings of the Institute of Geography. The English electronic scientific journal has been produced since 2020. Young scientific staff is being trained at the institute; the numbers of local and international scientific grant projects are being implemented.