It stimulates international meetings of art historians and co-ordinates the dissemination of information about research undertaken under the aegis of the committee.
Former members of the board included Millard Meiss, Herbert von Einem, Jan Gerrit Van Gelder, Mario Salmi, André Chastel, Jacques Thuillier, Jan Białostocki and many other well-known art historians.
Every four years, the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art holds a major Congress.
The thirty-fourth Congress in the History of Art, organized by CIHA members, took place in Beijing, China, in September 2016.
The National Committee for the History of Art (NCHA) is the U.S. affiliate of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art.