Cole Harbour is situated 6 kilometres east of the central business district of Dartmouth and takes its name from Cole Harbour, a natural harbour fronting the Atlantic Ocean.

Cole Harbour is adjacent to and immediately east of the former city boundary of Dartmouth; prior to municipal amalgamation and the creation of the Halifax Regional Municipality in 1995, Cole Harbour was an unincorporated village within the Municipality of the County of Halifax. Because of amalgamation in the Halifax region, Canada Post recognizes most of Cole Harbour’s residents as living in neighboring Dartmouth.