It was established in 1955 by Dr. Shivram and Dr. Mekhri in what was then the fort police station ground. It was built by civil engineer and architect, Mr. V. Ramamoorthy, who built it in a record time of 6 months. The college was initially run by the Mysore Medical Education Society and was later handed over to the Government of Karnataka in 1956 and was affiliated to Bangalore University. After the formation of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences BMC was affiliated to the new university in 1997.[1]

It celebrated its golden jubilee in 2005–2006 with major renovation and the inauguration of a state-of-the-art digital library and Basavarajendra Auditorium. In 2006, the college was granted autonomous status by the Government of Karnataka.[2] The college is presently undergoing major renovation along the lines of AIIMS.