It is typical of the donjons being built by King Philip II Augustus of France at this time, like at Rouen and other French nobility throughout the 13th century.

The châtellenie of Dourdan was part of the Crown lands of France (Domaine royal) from the 10th century.

The present fortress was built at the request of Philip Augustus in the 1220s in the place of a wood structure.

Among some of the notable personages who resided in the castle were Philip IV of France's daughter-in-law, Joan II, Countess of Burgundy, detained there from 1314 to 1315 in relation to the Tour de Nesle affair, and La Hire, one of Joan of Arc's comrades-in-arms.

At the end of the 17th century, the Château de Dourdan was given to the Duke of Orléans who turned it into a prison.