The bridge is named after the 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1453.

An international consortium of three Japanese companies (including IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), one Italian (Impregilo) and one Turkish company (STFA) carried out the construction works.

The bridge was completed on May 29, 1988, and later opened on June 3, 1988 by Prime Minister Turgut Özal, who drove his official car, becoming the first to cross.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet is a toll bridge, but payment is required only from vehicles traveling to Asia (as in the First Bosphorus Bridge, no payment is required while passing from Asia to Europe.)

A HGS sticker can be obtained at various stations before the toll plaza of highways and bridges.