It is named after explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, whose expedition landed on Débarquement Rock in the Dumoulin Islands at the northeast end of the archipelago on January 21, 1840.

A pioneering French Antarctic research station, Port Martin, located 62 kilometres (39 mi) east of D'Urville, was destroyed by fire on the night of January 23, 1952, without death or injury.

The new main base, Dumont D'Urville station, was built on the same island and opened on January 12, 1956, to serve as the centre for French scientific research during the Antarctic International Geophysical Year 1957/1958.

[1] The icebreaker ship L'Astrolabe carries supplies and personnel to the station from the port of Hobart, Tasmania.

The vessel is used both to bring personnel and supplies to the Dumont d'Urville Station and for research and patrol duties.

In the 1950s the station had a small narrow-gauge railway for transporting supplies from a landing jetty to the main base.

This station experienced record warm temperatures and precipitation due to an unprecedented atmospheric river event in March 2022.