An inscription dating back to 1303, found at Kuala Berang showed an Islamic state was in existence in Terengganu at the time. Terengganu was also paying tribute to the Siamese in the north and with the emergence of the Melaka sultanate in the 14th century, it became a vassal of Melaka. However, this did not stop the state from maintaining trade with Siam and China.

Terengganu was formally established as a state in 1724 and had Sultan Zainal Abidin, a younger brother of one of the former Johor sultans as its first ruler. It had a close association with Johor for a while but eventually became a vassal of the Siamese which controlled it during the 19th century. The sultan of Terengganu at the time was Sultan Baginda Omar, who ensured the Siamese did not interfere in the running of the state and it flourished under his rule.

In 1909 an Anglo-Siamese treaty saw power handed over to the British until the Japanese occupation during WWII. After the war the state was administered by the British until the country achieved independence in 1957.