The Djibouti–Somalia land boundary extends for 60 kilometers (37 miles) in a straight line from the Gulf of Aden to the tripoint with Ethiopia. The boundary is based on the colonial-era border between British and French Somalilands, established in 1888. An Anglo–French commission delimited and surveyed the boundary during the early 20th century.

After independence in 1960, Somalia briefly claimed the entirety of Djibouti, and over the ensuing decades, relations were periodically strained. Currently relations are stable, with the Djiboutian government providing humanitarian aid to Somalia and assisting in diplomatic talks between Somalia and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, which lies along the border with Djibouti.