The library was initially conceived as departmental library having a small collection of books for the use of officers of the erstwhile Directorate General of Indian Medical Services (DGIMS).

The DGIMS was later merged with the Office of the Public Health Commissioner in India in 1947 to form the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the library became DGHS Library. Realizing the need for a Central Library to support academic, research and clinical work of Biomedical Professionals in the country, the DGHS library was developed gradually and declared as Central Medical Library in 1961 and as the National Medical Library on 1st April 1966.