The journal covers topics of historical interest concerning Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan and Singapore.

The journal was first founded in 1877 by a group of British colonial administrators in Singapore and published as the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JSBRAS) and published at six-monthly intervals by the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (SBRAS).

[1] In 1923 SBRAS was renamed the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS), in response to the increasing sphere of influence of the British over the Malay Peninsula and its surrounding areas.

Publication of JMBRAS was interrupted by the Japanese invasion of Malaya in World War II: the last issue (volume 19 part 3) came out in December 1941.

The first issue of the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS) was volume 37, part 1.