We consider the localization game played on graphs, wherein a set of cops attempt to determine the exact location of an invisible robber by exploiting distance probes. The corresponding optimization parameter for a graph G is called the localization number and is written ζ(G). We settle a conjecture of [5] by providing an upper bound on the localization number as a function of the chromatic number. In particular, we show that every graph with ζ(G) ≤ k has degeneracy less than 3 k and, consequently, satisfies χ(G) ≤ 3 ζ(G) . We show further that this degeneracy bound is tight. We also prove that the localization number is at most 2 in outerplanar graphs, and we determine, up to an additive constant, the localization number of hypercubes.