The commission was preceded by a Politics and Law Leading Group (Chinese: 政法领导小组; Zhèngfǎ Lǐngdǎo Xiǎozǔ) which was set up in 1958, with Peng Zhen as its leader.

[1] During the Cultural Revolution it was led by Ji Dengkui, who served as group leader until 24 January 1980, when the commission was established, with Peng Zhen back as its secretary.

The Small Leading Group on Political and Legal Affairs focused on a narrower set of policy and research concerns, and did not take as active a role intervening in cases or issuing directives, resulting in a degree of increased independence of the judiciary.

The crisis precipitated by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre resulted in a reversal of these reforms, and the Small Group was reverted to its Commission status in March 1990, with the goal of maintaining stability through tighter control of public security and legal systems.

[3] The apparent downgrading of the post followed Zhou's connection with the Wang Lijun incident, which has discredited Chongqing politician Bo Xilai's method of using the internal security apparatus for political ends.

[5] In May 2021, the commission was criticized after an account belonging to it posted an image on Sina Weibo of a rocket launch in China next to a photo of mass cremations in India as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.