The meeting was first held at the Europahalle in 1985 and is currently a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold-level event, the highest level of one-day indoor meeting in the World Athletics calendar.

The meeting has a strong tradition in the 60 metres hurdles event – Susanna Kallur set a women's world record in 2008, while Liu Xiang and Márcio de Souza have set continental records on the men's side.

[2] A strict limit of 199 occupants following safety concerns after modified fire safety regulations in Germany required in 2015 that the meeting was moved to Dm-Arena in Rheinstetten on Karlsruhe's exhibition areal.

The sport infrastructure is temporary, it was first used in the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg and was acquired by the city of Karlsruhe with the intention to be able to host various more high-profile athletics events in Dm-Arena than would be possible in Europahalle even if it is put back in normal operation.

Over the course of its history, three world records have been set at the Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe.