It was founded in 1781 as Voskresensk and was given its present name in 1930.
Known since the 16th century as the village of Voskresenskoye, it was later renamed Voskresensk, granted town status in 1781, and became the seat of an uyezd. In 1930, the town was renamed Istra, after the river which flows through it. As a result of short-term occupation during the Great Patriotic War, the town was severely damaged. After the war, Istra became a center of research in the area of electrical power engineering
