The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections.

As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Dalry and West Kilbride was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards.

Dalry and West Kilbride rans across the council area from the Firth of Clyde to the easternmost part of the council area between its borders with East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire and centred around the towns of Dalry and West Kilbride.

[1] Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward was increased in area as the northern boundary was moved to run along the A737 up to the council's border with Renfrewshire, taking in an area that was previously part of the Kilbirnie and Beith ward.

The review coincided with the introduction of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 which allowed for the creation of five-member wards.