Oțelul won the league title in the 2010–11 campaign, becoming the first and only Romanian champion from the region of Moldavia to date; this triumph was followed by winning the 2011 Supercupa României.

The first games took place c. 1908, when Vladovici's team from the 3rd Artillery Regiment played groups of English sailors stationed in the harbour.

Ten teams took part, among them Chinezul Timișoara, Unirea Tricolor București, Colțea Brașov and AMEFA Arad.

Gloria CFR immediately joined the Lower Danube District Championship, alongside teams already experienced in official competitions such as: DVA, Ermis, Marina Danubiană and Unirea Tulcea.

In the 1937–38 season, Gloria CFR, "the Railroad Workers", had a spectacular performance of 16 wins, a draw and a single defeat, and were promoted to Divizia A.

Oțelul's 1968 promotion squad included: Şerbănoiu, Berechet, Rusu, Florea–Boeru, Coman, Secăşeanu, Luban, Halmagy, Moşneagu, Cernega, Bruştiuc, Niculescu, Morohai, Leca, Ion Ionică, Ailoaiei, Obreja, Câmpeanu, Drăghiescu and Ogescu; with coaches Gh.

The 1980–81 squad of Oțelul included: Șerbănoiu, Călugăru, Cucu, Borș, Căstăian, Morohai, Ceacu, Ciurea, Pătrașcu, Pavel, Gheorghiu, Adamache, Ion Ionică, Basalîc, Ticu, Potorac, and Podeț; with coach Petru Moțoc.

In 1980, immediately after the promotion of the team to the second league, a political decision of Galați County gave Oțelul's place in Divizia B to Victoria Tecuci; some of the Oțelul players switched to the team from Tecuci, and others signed with Divizia C side Metalosport Galați, owned by the Cristea Nicolae factory.

Oțelul took advantage of this political decision, finishing third in the 1982–83 season, eighth in 1983–84, and third in 1984–85 behind Petrolul Ploiești and local rival Dunărea Galați.

Stamate, Oprea, Ciobanu, Popescu, Stoica, Radu, Ciurea, Burcea, Smadu, Marius Stan, A. Stamate, Petrescu, Basalic, Rusu, Claudiu Vaișcovici, Antohi, Bejenaru, Dumitru, Rotaru, Lala, Anghelinei, C. Stan, and Ralea; with coaches Constantin Rădulescu and Ioan Sdrobiş.

In their first European Cup match, in front of 30,000 supporters, Oțelul upset Italian side Juventus 1–0, the goal scored by Ion Profir from the penalty spot.

For Juventus: Stefano Tacconi, Nicolò Napoli, Alessandro Altobelli, Rui Barros and Michael Laudrup, with coaches Dino Zoff and Cornel Dinu.

In the 1990–91 season, under the management of Marius Stan and Mihai Stoica, the club was promoted to Divizia A; Oțelul finished six points ahead of second-place Gloria Buzău.

At the end of the 1995–96 season, the club lost star players Radu Cașuba and Valentin Ştefan, but maintained a foundation moving forward with players such as: Iulian Arhire, Stelian Bordieanu, Gheorghe Bosânceanu, Gheorghe Cornea, Daniel Florea, Sorin Haraga, Gigi Ion, Viorel Ion, Costin Maleș, Dănuț Oprea, Tudorel Pelin, Emil Spirea, Adrian State, Viorel Tănase and Cătălin Tofan.

Oțelul qualified again for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, and beat Macedonian side Sloga Jugomagnat 4–1 on aggregate, advancing to the second round.

[7] In this period, the club earned the nicknames Cimitirul Granzilor (English: "The Giants Cemetery") and Campioana Provinciei ("The Provincial Champion").

The first match of the 2007–08 season was in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where Oțelul met Slavija Sarajevo (3rd place in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The second leg was played in Galați, and was an unexpected 3–0 win for Oțelul, with goals by Emil Jula (at 31 and 42 minutes) and Gabriel Paraschiv (70 min).

Jula added a third goal for the Romanian side from the penalty spot in the 88th minute, and Oţelul qualified for the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup.

Oțelul achieved its best performance in the 2010–11 season, winning the first league, defeating main rival FC Timişoara in a match that decided the title.

In the 9 months we had available until the entry of FCO into insolvency, we were unable to change the ongoing contracts, which were concluded in exorbitant amounts also by the old management, and the much higher expenditures compared to the revenues led to the club's closing.

ASC Oțelul Galați was considered the spiritual successor of the old club because it wore the same colours, it played in the same stadium and was supported by the same fans.

With the aid of a law firm, ASC Oțelul gained possession of the record and brand and became the official successor of the club on 12 September 2017.

[20] Under coach Stelian Bordeianu, a former player of the club, Oțelul won 30 of its 32 matches in all competitions, setting a record for Romanian football.

Oțelul dominated both the regular season and the playoffs, finishing first in Liga III Seria 2, nine points clear of second-place CSM Focsani.

George Carjan, Alin Nica and Denis Cires scored in a 3–0 win for Oțelul that propelled the steelworkers into Liga II.

The 3rd spot finish, coupled with CSA Steaua's(2nd) legal limitations, sealed a historic comeback to the elite for the Galați boys, 8 years after their previous Liga I match.

The youth academy of Oțelul Galați developed young players including: Iulian Arhire, Florin Cernat, Romulus Chihaia, Daniel Florea, Silviu Ilie, Laurențiu Iorga, George Miron, Ionuț Neagu, Dănuț Oprea, Cornel Râpă, Viorel Tănase, Cătălin Tofan, or Alexandru Tudorie.

Regular fans that are not affiliated with any ultras groups can join the Liga Suporterilor Gălăţeni 1993 (The Galați Supporters League 1993) organisation.

The main rivals of Oțelul Galați are Dacia Unirea Brăila, who they face in a competition known as Derby-ul Dunării de Jos ("The Lower Danube Derby").