It is based in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, and is a member of the Association of Spanish Language Academies.

[2] It was founded in 1871 by a group of writers and philology specialists, including Jose Maria Vergara y Vergara, Manuel María Mallarino; Rufino José Cuervo, the father of Hispanic-American philology; and Miguel Antonio Caro.

The building was demolished to make way for the intersection of 19th Street with 7th Avenue, as was the nearby Church of the Conception.

The neoclassical-style building was designed by the Spanish architect Alfredo Rodríguez Ordaz.

Its current and former members include Manuel María Mallarino, Germán Arciniegas, Jaime Sanín Echeverri, Diego Uribe Vargas, Otto Morales Benítez, Juan Gustavo Cobo Borda, Maruja Vieira, Marco Fidel Suárez, and Fernando Hinestrosa Forero.