Despite being officially established by Indonesian Government Regulation in 1954, Universitas Airlangga was first founded in 1948 as a distant branch of the University of Indonesia, with roots dating back to 1913.

[11] Before Universitas Airlangga was established on October 11, 1847, the proposal to educate young Javanese to become health experts was submitted to the Dutch colonial government.

Later during the Japanese occupation, STOVIT was renamed Ika-Shika Daigaku (医科歯科大学) (College of Medicine and Dentistry) under the supervision of Takeda as its first director (1942–1945), while NIAS was closed down.

Two years later, the post-WW II Dutch colonial government took over Ika-Shika Daigaku and then changed its name to Tandheelkundig Instituut (Institute of Dentistry) and NIAS was reopened as Faculteit der Geneeskunde (Faculty of Medicine).

Later after Republik Indonesia Serikat (RIS) gained its official independence in 1950, UTI was renamed LIKG (Lembaga Ilmu Kedokteran Gigi) (Institute of Dentistry) for four years, under the leadership of Prof. M. Knap and Prof. M. Soetojo.

57/1954 and was inaugurated by the first president of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno on November 10, 1954, coinciding with the celebration of the ninth national Heroes' Day.

These colors are taken from the veil that covered Vishnu's statue at the founding ceremony of Universitas Airlangga by the first president of the Republic of Indonesia on November 10, 1954.

For this reason, Universitas Airlangga has been the destination for foreign students who choose to study in Indonesia, particularly from Malaysia, Japan, Timor Leste, China, Thailand, and some European and African countries.