It is published quarterly by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fornvännen began publication in 1906 when it replaced two earlier journals, Svenska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift and Vitterhetsakademiens Månadsblad.

Early contributors included noted archaeologists Oscar Montelius and Hans Hildebrand.

[2] Stig Welinder has noted that the journal included articles by women from an early stage, including those of Rosa Norström and Sigrid Leijonhufvud, and characterises this as part of the women's rights movement in Sweden.

[5] According to Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, it is indexed in Anthropological Index Online, Anthropological Literature, British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (Online Edition), Nordic Archaeological Abstracts, and FRANCIS.