The suburb, locally known as "Donny", just as its namesake in the UK, is situated on 8.9 km2 of land, around the top of the 120 m high Doncaster Hill. The suburb consists of a central area along the top of Doncaster Hill, which includes several historical buildings along Doncaster Road, the Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre and surrounding high-rise apartments, while the rest of the suburb is typical of many of Melbourne's eastern suburbs, with extensive low-density housing. Today the suburb is perhaps most notable for its shopping centre, one of the largest in Australia.