The oldest part of the cemetery is located south of the present Baikova Street.

In Soviet times the Baikove cemetery became the main necropolis of Kyiv's intelligentsia, middle and upper classes.

Since Ukrainian independence in 1991, the cemetery has remained the most prestigious burial ground in the city.

Eighty-seven plots are on the List of national landmarks of cultural heritage in Kyiv.

An Orthodox Church (Ascension of the Lord) in Byzantine style was built at the cemetery in 1884–1889.