According to one tradition, it is derived from the name of the Bhil chief Bansia who ruled over this area before defeated by Maharaval Jagmal Singh in 1529 CE.

In November 1913 western Banswara was the site of the Mangarh massacre that ended the Bhil Revolt.

Common birds in the region are fowl, partridge, black drongo, grey shrike, green bee-eater, bulbul, parrot etc.

In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Banswara one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).

The 11 development blocks in the district are: Talwara, Garhi, Ghatol, Arthuna, Banswara, Bagidora, Anandpuri, Chhoti Sarvan, Gangadtalai Kushalgarh and Sajjangarh.

The district consists five Vidhan Sabha constituencies, Kushalgarh, Garhi, Ghatol, Banswara and Bagidora.

[5] According to the 2011 census Banswara district has a population of 1,797,485,[8] roughly equal to the nation of The Gambia[9] or the US state of Nebraska.