Opened on 23 November 1971 and inaugurated during a ceremony by singers Dalida and Adamo, it is one of the largest vaulted underground stations in the world.

Auber is built in the style of the traditional vaulted Métro station as pioneered by Fulgence Bienvenüe, with central tracks and lateral platforms.

The entire construction is waterproofed on both sides by a 7-metre thick, 10-metre high abutment of concrete which contains escalators linking the two levels.

[2]: 158 The station's eccentrically audacious scale and damp setting earned it references as "the world's largest submarine".

During busy periods, PM10 particle pollution caused by train braking regularly reaches 400 μg/m3 at Auber, eight times the EU Commission's daily average limit.