The village Hinwil from which the later municipality took its name is first mentioned in 745 as Hunichinwilari, in a donation made by Beata and Landolt to the Abbey of Saint Gall.

[3] The Alamanni were actually preceded by Roman inhabitants, as attested by the foundation walls of a Roman Villa dating from the 1st century CE and detected under the medieval church of Hinwil which is first mentioned in the second half of the 8th century.

[3] During the High Middle Ages, the village Hinwil was part of the Landvogtei of Grüningen and was then, after 1280, subordinated to the commandry of the Knights of St. John at Bubikon.

In the process of the Reformation, the governance of Hinwil and other villages of the region was divided between Zürich and the Order of the Knights of St. John, with the influence of the latter being limited by an agreement to use only members of the Reformed Church of Zürich as their local governors.

Of the rest of the land, 17.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

It includes four independent villages; Hinwil, Ringwil, Wernetshausen and Hadlikon.

The hamlets of Bossikon, Erlosen and Girenbad as well as about one hundred individual farms make up the rest of the municipality.

The wettest month is August during which time Hinwil receives an average of 170 mm (6.7 in) of precipitation.

[7] Hinwil is the home of the Stake F1 Team, where the Sauber Motorsport AG builds the chassis and other components required to compete in the Formula 1 series.