The river flows from the Fontanka River near the Summer Garden past the Field of Mars, crosses Nevsky Avenue and the Kryukov Canal before entering the Neva River. It is also connected with the Neva by the Swan Channel and the Winter Channel.

In 1711, Peter the Great ordered the banks of the river to be consolidated. After the Kryukov Canal linked it with the Fontanka River four years later, the Moyka became so much clearer that its name was changed from Mya to Moyka, associated with the Russian verb "to wash".

In 1736, the first Moyka quay was constructed in wood. Four bridges originally spanned the river: the Blue, the Green, the Yellow, and the Red. The 99 meters wide Blue Bridge, now hardly visible underneath St. Isaac's Square, remains the widest bridge in the whole city