The province was first established on October 31, 1883 by a law promulgated by President Domingo Santa María which defined its limits as the Tacna Province to the north, the Quebrada de Camarones to the south, the Andes mountain range to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

[1] This was under the conditions of Treaty of Ancón, by means of which Chile achieved dominion over the Tarapacá Department, and possession of the provinces of Tacna and Arica for a decade, after which a plebiscite was to be held in 1894 to determine the region's sovereignty, however, it was never carried out.

[10] On April 23, 1921, measles in epidemic form was reported in the province, as well as neighboring Antofagasta, occurring among troops.

[11][12] On June 3, 1929 the Treaty of Lima was signed by then Peruvian Representative Pedro José Rada y Gamio and Chilean Representative Emiliano Figueroa Larrain, leading to the effective return of Tacna to Peru at midnight, on the 28th of August 1929, creating the Department of Tacna, and Arica (both the former Peruvian Department as well as some territory of the Department of Tacna ceded by the treaty) was permanently given to Chile, being integrated into the Tarapacá Province, ending the existence of the Chilean Province of Tacna.

Nonetheless, the return of the territory was met with ceremonies in Peru, with President Augusto B. Leguía overseeing a military parade in Lima, and church bells ringing in celebration.