Dinton Civil Parish lies within the Unitary Authority of Wiltshire and the Wilton Community Area as defined by the Wiltshire Core strategy. The Parish is in the UK Parliamentary constituency of South West Wiltshire. It is joined to the Parishes of Wylye (A303) in the North and Fovant (A30) in the South by a C class road. The main communication route in the Parish being the B3089 joining the Parish of Teffont in the West to the Parish of Barford St Martin in the East and from there on to the town of Wilton and City of Salisbury. The Exeter to Waterloo railway line runs without stopping through the village, the nearest station being 5 miles away at Tisbury or a larger station at Salisbury. Access to the A303, the trunk road from London to the west country is 3 miles to the north.
The whole of the Parish falls within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Parish lies in the Nadder Valley, having the river as its southern boundary. The Northern boundary follows the course of an ancient earthwork known as Grimm’s ditch. Outside the settled areas the parish is made up of largely pastoral land with some interspersed agriculture and woodland. It is comprised of the medium sized village of Dinton and the hamlets of Baverstock to the East and Marshwood to the North.
There are a number of sites and buildings within the Parish of historic or scientific interest, consequently it is important to maintain the environment and historic setting in some areas of the Parish. The National Trust is a major landowner owning about 150 acres (60 hectares) in the Parish. There are a number of business areas centred around redundant Defence infrastructure and a disused brickworks.
There are two churches within the parish, St Mary’s Church, in Dinton and St Edith’s Church in Baverstock. Dinton has a thriving primary school, two public houses, a large modern village hall and a superb recreation ground used by Dinton Cricket Club.