Flowing between Anticosti Island and the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, it is one of the two outlets of the Saint Lawrence River into its estuary, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The other is the Jacques Cartier Strait on the north side of Anticosti Island.
The Honguedo Strait is approximately 70 kilometres wide at its narrowest point.
The origin of the name is uncertain; it may derive from the Mi'kmaq word for "gathering place."