This area was one of the last territories to be brought under British control after the punitive Abor and Mishmi Expedition in the first decade of the 20th century.
In June 1980, Dibang Valley district was split from Lohit (and has since been bifurcated again to create the new Lower Dibang Valley district). On 16 February 2004, Anjaw district was carved out from the northern part of Lohit district bordering Tibet and Myanmar, with its headquarters at Hawai. Anjaw was carved out under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-organization of Districts Amendment Bill
