The Hong Kong Museum of History was established in July 1975 when the City Museum and Art Gallery was split into the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Museum of Art. But some of the Museum's collections date back to the City Museum and Art Gallery founded in 1962 at the City Hall. In 1983, the Museum was moved to the temporary accommodation in Kowloon Park. It was moved to its present premises on Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui in 1998.

The permanent home of the Hong Kong Museum of History, with a gross floor area of 17,500 m², is housed in a new building constructed at a cost of HK$390M and funded by the Hong Kong SAR Government. It is a comprehensive state-of-the-art museum designed by the P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd., based on the architectural concept of Mr E. Verner Johnson. The new Museum and the neighbouring Science Museum together form a museum complex of a harmonious appearance and colour scheme.

Apart from the main museum at Chatham Road South, the Hong Kong Museum of History runs five branch museums, namely the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence at Shau Kei Wan, the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum at Sham Shui Po , Law Uk Folk Museum at Chai Wan, Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery inside the Quarry Bay Park and Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum in the Mid-Levels of Central.