It was discovered on 17 November 1868, by English astronomer Norman Pogson at Madras Observatory, India, and named after Camilla, Queen of the Volsci in Roman mythology.

[16][17][a] Lightcurve analysis indicates that Camilla's pole most likely points towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (+51°, 72°) with a 10° uncertainty,[8] which gives it an axial tilt of 29°.

[26] According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,[11][12][13][19][21] as well as observations by the Keck Observatory and photometric modeling,[14][15][27][23][24][28][29] Camilla measures between 185 and 247 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.160 and 0.294.

On 1 March 2001, a minor-planet moon of Camilla was found by A. Storrs, F. Vilas, R. Landis, E. Wells, C. Woods, B. Zellner, and M. Gaffey using the Hubble Space Telescope.

[6] In 2016, the discovery of a second satellite of Camilla was reported by astronomers at Cerro Paranal's Very Large Telescope in Chile.