Gadchiroli tahsil was created in 1905 by transfer of zamindari istate from Brahmapuri and Chandrapur tahsil. Gadchiroli district was created on August 26, 1982 by bifurcating the Chandrapur district in the place of Brahmapuri, which is part of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. In ancient times the region was ruled by the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas, the Yadavas of Deogiri and later the Gonds of Gadchiroli. In the 13th century Khandkya Ballal Shah founded Chandrapur. He shifted his capital from Sirpur to Chandrapur. Chandrapur subsequently came under Maratha rule. In 1853, Berar, of which Chandrapur (then called Chanda until 1964) was part, was ceded to the British East India Company. In 1854, Chandrapur became an independent district of Berar. In 1905, the British created the tehsil of Gadchiroli by transfer of zamindari istate from Chandrapur and Brahmapuri. It was part of the Central Provinces till 1956, when with the reorganisation of the states, Chandrapur was transferred to Bombay state. In 1960, when the new state of Maharashtra was created, Chandrapur became a district of the state. In 1982 Chandrapur was divided, with Gadchiroli becoming an independent district in the place of Brahmapuri.
Naxalism is highly prevalent in Gadchiroli and subsequently has been highlighted as part of the Red Corridor, used to describe areas in India that are plagued by Naxalites
