Ambedkar Nagar is noted for Tanda Terracotta. Major economic activities are power looms and farming. The district also has a thermal power station belonging to the NTPC. There is also a cement manufacturing plant belonging to the Jaypee Group (Jaypee Ayoudha Greeding). The district has one sugar factory called the Akbarpur Sugar Mill, which is situated near Mijhaura, about ten kilometres from the district headquarters. Many rice mills are present in Akbarpur. There is a power and distribution transformer manufacturing industry named Achal Electricals situated on Dostpur road.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Ambedkar Nagar one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF)
