The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices of the kennel clubs of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

[5] Since its foundation the FCI's membership has grown to include kennel clubs from the majority of countries worldwide, with members in Europe as well as Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

In contrast to national kennel clubs, the FCI is not a registry and does not issue pedigrees to individual dogs, with the issue of pedigrees and record keeping of breeders and breeder addresses the responsibility of the national canine organisations recognised by the FCI.

"[11] In contrast, the FCI takes a stronger line on certain issues compared with some non-member national kennel clubs, particularly the AKC and UKC, regarding general animal health and welfare.

Unlike the AKC and UKC, the FCI has moved towards banning the practices of ear cropping and tail docking in breed standards, as well as forbidding the entry of dogs with cropped ears and dock tails from being shown in dogs shows in FCI member countries.