It serves an advisory function to both the Danish Minister for Science and the Greenland home rule.
The commission published the journal Meddelelser om Grønland - since 1975 issued as three separate monograph series: The commission was established in 1878 by initiative of the professor of geology Frederik Johnstrup.
He argued that the State of Denmark should spend some of the considerable income from kryolite mining concessions on furthering mineralogical and other research actitivities in Greenland.
From 1879 to 1920, its official name was the Commission for Leading Geological and Geographical Investigations in Greenland (Commissionen for Ledelsen af de geologiske og geographiske Undersøgelser i Grønland).
During the 1930s through the 1950s, the geologist Lauge Koch had a very strong influence on the commission's work.