The town was founded in 1824 as a fortress, named for the Kokshetau hill it was built on; the name is Kazakh for "blue mountain". In 1868 it became an oyez center. In 1997 Kokshetau region was abolished. After a change in administrative structure of Akmola and North Kazakhstan region Kokshetau has become as a regional center of Akmola region.
During the late 1930s, as a result of the Polish operation of the NKVD - USSR citizens of Polish nationality, related national operations, also against Kazakhstan SSR Germans, since 1939 many residents of the Poland's kresy wschodnie were forcibly settled in this region, and Kokchetav became the center of the Polish diaspora in Kazakhstan.On March 16, 1944, the Kokchetav Oblast was created, with Kokchetav as its administrative center
