Dezhou Region is a prefecture-level city  in northwestern Shandong Province. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north.

Dezhou is a city with a population of 400 000. The major towns of Yucheng (80 000), Lingxian (65 000), Qihe (65 000), Linyi (60 000), Xiajin (55 000), Ningjin (50 000), Pingyuan (50 000), Leling (40 000), Wucheng (40 000), and Qingyun (30 000) are county seats in the region. The major towns of Linpan (28 000) in Linyi County and Laocheng (22 000) in Wucheng County is also in the region.

Dezhou region contains the Dezhou metropolitan area, 2 metropolitan counties, and 8 ordinary counties. Its area is 10 356 km² and its population is 5 293 674.

The Dezhou metropolitan area has only one district: Decheng District  539 km²

Dezhous biggest historical attraction is the tomb of Sultan Paduka Pahala of Sulu (Philippines), who died in Dezhou on his return journey from a visit to the Yongle Emperor in 1417. The tomb is well preserved and has been declared a national heritage site. Descendants of the sultans Muslim followers still live in Dezhou today, and are classfied as the Hui minority.

The name of Dezhou is the same as the abbreviation of the Chinese name for the state of  Texas, USA