The patron saint of the archdiocese is St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On 14 February 1952 the prefecture was promoted to Apostolic Vicariate of Jesselton, hence entitled to a titular bishop.

On 31 May 1976 the vicariate was elevated to a full Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuching.

His predecessor, John Lee Hiong Fun-Yit Yaw, has been served as the first Archbishop from 1987 to his retirement on 1 December 2012.

As of 2023, there are 23 parishes across 4 deaneries including various sub-parishes and 229 outstations found in the Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.