The Valuy Uspensky Nikolayevsky Monastery was located near the city of Valuyki in the Voronezh province (now Belgorod region), at the confluence of the Valuy and Oskol rivers. The exact date of its founding is unknown.

According to a description of the Voronezh diocese compiled by Evgeny (Bolkhovitino) in 1800 based on archival notes and traditions, the monastery is first mentioned in the late 16th century as a hermitage. By the early 17th century, the Uspensky church was built in the monastery, and the brotherhood especially revered the miraculous icon of Saint Nicholas, which, according to tradition, was found at the site of the monastery's foundation during haymaking. The icon was moved to the church in Valuyki twice, but each time it returned to its original place.

During the Time of Troubles, the monastery was destroyed by Lithuanian troops and Cossacks, but in 1613-1614 it was restored by order of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich by Korniliy and his associates. In January 1624, the monastery received a charter from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich for its arable land and properties. In the 17th century, the monastery was repeatedly attacked by Lithuanian detachments and bandits.

The Valuy Monastery was one of the poorest in Central Russia and the only one in the Voronezh diocese (until 1764) that did not have estates or peasants. In the 1720s and 1730s, the monastery was granted small plots of land, and by the mid-18th century, it owned the settlements of Yablonovaya, Orekhovaya, and Kazinka. The monastery held five fairs a year, had a cattle yard, a beehive, and a garden. In 1766, the monastery became a non-staff institution and lost almost all its property.

In the 18th century, the brotherhood consisted of three hieromonks and a hierodeacon, and the monastery housed monks who had committed offenses. The situation was complicated by attacks from bandits, theft, and frequent arsons. In 1800, the builder of the monastery wrote about this to the Voronezh bishop Arsenius (Moskvyn). At the initiative of the builder, several dozen families from Ukraine settled near the monastery, but this did not improve the situation. In 1796-1797, the builder hieromonk Yermogen abolished drinking houses, for which he faced persecution and was forced to retreat to the Tolshensky Monastery.

The monastery was not abolished due to numerous healings and signs occurring through the prayers of pilgrims before the icon of Saint Nicholas. These miracles attracted worshippers who made significant donations. Under the builder hieromonk Ioil, with funds from the Chernigov landowner I. Silich and with the assistance of Valuy's city governor A. Tyrtov, a stone refectory church was built, and work began on reconstructing the dilapidated wooden Uspensky church. Under hieromonk Tikhon, the restoration of the Uspensky church was carried out. In 1808, the builder hieromonk Joseph completed the restoration of the Uspensky temple and built the abbot's cells. Under hieromonk Irinей, the first stone two-story Uspensky cathedral was erected, and in the early 1820s, a stone monastery fence was constructed.

Thanks to the efforts of the Voronezh bishops Saint Anthony (Smirnitsky) and Ignatius (Semyonov), under the abbots hieromonks Innocent, Viktor, and Polievkt, the monastery became one of the spiritual centers of Southern Russia. In 1839, the bell tower was consecrated, construction began on a church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Three-Handed" and a building for a boys' shelter. By the blessing of Saint Anthony, an annual procession was held with the miraculous icon of Saint Nicholas. Since the 1860s, an orphan school operated at the monastery, which clothed, fed, and educated the children. The monastery had a large library, icon-painting, carpentry, blacksmithing, shoemaking, tailoring, and locksmith workshops, mills, a candle factory, a pharmacy, and a reception room for the sick. In the 19th century, the monastery owned more than 100 desyatinas of forest and 80 desyatinas of meadow. During World War I, the monastery supported the families of soldiers at the front, and hospitals were located in its hotels.

By the early 20th century, the monastery had the Uspensky temple, a refectory church, and the Nikolsky temple with chapels of Saint Dimitry of Rostov and Martyr Paraskeva Friday. The miraculous icon of the saint was kept in the Nikolsky temple. The church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Three-Handed" is not mentioned at the beginning of the 20th century. The monastery had a cave hermitage, officially opened on May 4, 1914. A temple in honor of Saint Ignatius the Godbearer was consecrated in the caves. Before 1917, construction of a chapel at the entrance to the caves was underway, but it was not consecrated. In the early 20th century, about 100 people lived in the monastery.

In March 1917, a search was conducted in the monastery, and the abbot Archimandrite Ignatius was summoned to the Valuy executive committee, where he was demanded to hand over all the monastery's savings, which was done. On the night of February 26, 1918, the monastery was subjected to armed robbery. In 1924, the monastery was closed, Archimandrite Ignatius served in the churches of Voronezh, was arrested in 1930, and died in 1932.

From 1935, the monastery housed a colony for juvenile offenders. In 2001, an agreement was reached between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on the transfer of part of the remaining buildings to the Belgorod and Starooskol diocese.

In 2005, reconstruction of the cave complex began, and a new church in honor of Saint Ignatius the Godbearer was built. In the fall of 2007, the cave complex was consecrated. From October 2007, restoration work was carried out to restore the Nikolsky temple, which was consecrated on August 13, 2009. The location of the miraculous icon of Saint Nicholas is unknown.

On September 4, 2011, the consecration and solemn opening after reconstruction of the Holy Nikolayevsky Cathedral of the former Uspensky Nikolayevsky Men's Monastery took place in Valuyki. After many years of oblivion, the shrine was reborn and became a significant place for the residents of Valuy land and Belogorye.