Situated between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, the city is named after Babu Fateh Chandra, who helped Rani Lakshmi Bai in the freedom struggle.

Alexander Cunningham has written about "Bhitaura" and "Asani" places of this district, while discussing about the residuals of the Vedic era.

In the village Renh, which is 25 km south-west of Fatehpur town, some articles of archaeological interest have been found, from around 800 BC.

On 5 January 1659, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had a fierce battle with his brother prince Shah Shuja and defeated him near this place, forcing him to flee to Burma.

To celebrate the victory, he constructed a large beautiful garden "Badshahi Bagh" and a big lodge having 130 rooms.

During the Mughal regime, the control of Fatehpur shifted over time to the hands of Jaunpur, Delhi and Kannauj.

In 1801, this region came under control of the East India Company, and in 1814 it was given the status of a sub-division (Paragana), while the headquarters were at Bhitaura, which is now a block office.

On 28 April 1858, the revolutionary Jodha Singh Ataiya and his 51 companions were hanged on a tamarind tree.