On the Northern Line it is between Euston and Angel, on the Bank branch. On the Piccadilly Line it is between Russell Square and Caledonian Road. On the Victoria Line it is between Warren Street and Highbury and Islington. On the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines, it is between Euston Square and Farringdon. It is in zone 1.
The Victoria line platforms opened on December 1, 1968, three months after the rest of the Victoria line did.
On November 18, 1987 the station was the scene of the devastating Kings Cross fire which killed thirty-one people. As a result of the fire, fire safety procedures on the Underground were tightened and smoking banned throughout the entire network.