The establishment of an arboretum was proposed by Hayrettin Kayacık, professor of the Faculty of Forestry at Istanbul University in 1949.

Between 1959 and 1961, Camille Guinet, inspector of the Sorbonne University's botanical garden, planned the road network inside the arboretum.

Opened on July 12, 1982, it was named in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder of Turkish Republic, on his 100th birthday anniversary.

Istanbul University's Faculty of Forestry is the scientific partner of the park's executive board.

[1] The main goal of the arboretum is to serve the faculty and the students of Istanbul University's Forestry Department including the relevant agencies of the Ministry of Forest and Water Management, forest engineers, landscape architects, domestic and foreign scientists as well as nature lovers in their research work.