Tazewell County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 44,598. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. The micropolitan area is the 350th largest statistical population area and the thirty-third largest micropolitan in the United States.

In the spring of 1771 Thomas and John Witten established the first permanent settlement in Tazewell County at Crab Orchard. Its county seat is the town of Tazewell.