The Yalta Historical and Literary Museum was founded in 1892 at the Crimea Mountain Club and soon became an important center of the city's cultural life. Since its inception, the museum has undergone significant changes in structure and artistic direction. In 1918, it separated from the mountain club and was renamed the 'Yalta Natural History Museum.' In 1924, the museum became a local history museum, and in 1932 it merged with the Eastern Museum.

During World War II, valuable exhibits were evacuated to Novosibirsk, and on April 28, 1944, the museum reopened its doors to visitors. In 1957, the literary-memorial house-museum of K.A. Trenev and P.A. Pavlenko was added to the museum, and in 1970 a branch opened in the former estate of M.Z. Biryukov. In 1977, a new exhibition 'Progressive Russian and Ukrainian Culture and Literature of Pre-Revolutionary Yalta' was created.

In 1985, the museum changed its name again and became a historical museum. Four years later, the Gurzuf Museum of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin became part of the Yalta Historical Museum, but in 1999 it regained its independence. In 1990, the museum was renamed the Yalta State United Historical and Literary Museum.

Since 1996, the museum has actively participated in the cultural life of the country: it conducts Dmitriev readings, participates in cultural events of various levels, and exchanges exhibits with other museums in Crimea and Russia. In 2003, the museum received its final name, the Yalta Historical and Literary Museum.

The main building of the museum, designed by Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov, is located at Pushkinskaya, 5. The museum named after Lesya Ukrainka and the exhibition 'Culture of Yalta in the 19th and early 20th centuries' are located at Yekaterininskaya, 8, subordinate to the main institution. The house-museum of Nikolai Zotovich Biryukov remains a branch. Throughout its long history, the museum has collected over 150,000 exhibits, presented in exhibition halls and stored in its funds.