Faro de Vigo was published for the first time on November 3, 1853 on a small printing house by its founder, Angel de Lema y Marina, at the rúa Olivo in Vigo, "with the idea of defending the general interests of Galicia and, especially, of his hometown".

Since 1986 it has belonged to Prensa Ibérica, a communication group that consists of 14 journalistic mastheads.

The publisher of the paper is Faro de Vigo S.A.[3] In 2002, its average daily circulation reached 42,245 copies, certified by the Office of Circulation Certification (OJD).

The numbers, as released by the General Study of Media (EGM, first wave 2020), which gave it 194,000 readers a day,[4] put it among the 15 most important Spanish newspapers, and the leader in Southern Galicia.

The paper prints six daily editions; the one with most diffusion covers Vigo.