Its name, formerly written Cotuy, was the name of the Taino community located around the gold and silver mines exploited by the Spanish conquerors from the first decade of the 16th century.

After Francisco Dávila's death in 1554, his will says, among other things, that ten percent of the Cotuí gold mine is for the construction of the church in the town of Aranda de Duero in Spain.

[5] A strong earthquake devastated the town in 1562 and it was moved to its current location, north of the Sierra de Yamasá and close to the Yuna River.

After Juan Pablo Duarte founded the Secret Society La Trinitaria on July 16, 1838, the Cotuisanos organized themselves almost immediately under the batons of Father Puigvert and José Valverde.

As soon as the events in Capotillo became known, when Cotuí pronounced himself in favor of the Restoration, hundreds of Cotuisanos went to fight to recover the lost Republic with its annexation to Spain in 1861, those who stood out the most were Esteban Adames, Basilio Gavilán, José Epifanio Márquez, Tomás Castillo and Francisco Suriel, who joined various lines of action, but mainly the Eastern line which had its headquarters in Cotuí, commanded by General Gregorio Luperón.

The city is well known for its gold, silver, iron, bauxite, marble and nickel mines, its rich soils and the largest artificial lake in the Caribbean, Presa de Hatillo.

The Immaculate Conception Church was built in 1741, and was part of the Herrerian-style ecclesiastical monuments that emerged at the beginning of the 17th century, boasting in the portals of the buildings and are associated with the new social impulse that the reign of Carlos V to his former Province of Santo Domingo.

The parochial temple of the municipality was built being priest of the Parish, Mr. Diego Fernández de Castro, it remained for more than 200 years.