The evidence of human habitation in Thanh Hoa province has been dated to 6,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found vestiges of the Da But culture in the Neolithic Age. In the early Metal Age, in the Bronze Age in particular, the evolution of pre-Dong Son cultures is found in Con Chan Tien, Dong Khoi and Quy Chu sites, equivalent in timing to the Phung Nguyen culture – Dong Dau culture – Go Mun culture centred at the Red River Valley of Northern Vietnam. Inherited the characteristics of pre-Dong Son culture, the Dong Son culture then developed prosperously in the Kingdom of Van Lang, an early semi-legendary nation state of the Vietnamese people, ruled by the Hung Kings over 2,000 years ago.

According to the principles of feng shui, Thanh Hoa is the kings’ sacred land. It is the homeland of four dynasties (Prior Le, Post Le, Ho and Nguyen) and two lords (Trinh and Nguyen), and many typical historical celebrities and heroes like: King Trieu Thi Trinh, King Le Loi, King Le Hoan, Mandarin Khuong Cong Thu, Le Van Huu, Dao Duy Tu, etc. during the Vietnamese feudalism period. Particularly, in the two wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, Thanh Hoa local people overcame many hardships to fulfill its tasks and contribute remarkably to the victory of Dien Bien Phu battlefield, Ham Rong battlefield and then the Great Victory of 1975 Spring.

After the August General Uprising in 1945, the old administrative units were dissolved. Thanh Hoa province then was divided into 21 administrative units, inclusive of Thanh Hoa township and 20 districts. In 2017, Thanh Hoa has 2 cities, 1 township and 24 districts. Thanh Hoa is the first province in the North Central region which includes two provincial cities (Thanh Hoa city and Sam Son city).