Pieksänmaa was formed in 2004 when the municipalities of Pieksämäen maalaiskunta, Jäppilä and Virtasalmi were consolidated to a single municipality. Pieksänmaa itself was consolidated to Pieksämäki three years later.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savoniaregion. The municipality had a population of 8,754 (2003) and covered an area of 1,788.17 km² of which 249.40 km² was water. The population density was 5.7 inhabitants per km².
