Captain Thomas Dennet of the British vessel Britannia sighted the atoll in 1797 on route from Australia to China and named it Hunter Island.

Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

On Kwajalein Atoll, the islanders were living in tents on a strip of grass alongside the airport runway.

In June the Bikini community chose two dozen men to accompany eight Seabees to Kili to begin constructing a village.

In November 1948, the residents, now totaling 184 individuals, moved to Kili Island, but soon learned that the new location was incompatible with their traditional diet and lifestyle based on lagoon fishing.

In exchange, they received $25,000 in cash and an additional $300,000 trust fund that yielded a semi-annual interest payment of approximately $5,000, or about $15 per person per year.

The grass Kili Airport is served by Air Marshall Islands, although flights have been grounded when its aircraft are not operational, or when the runway is flooded by rising ocean .

Island produce consists of (in descending order of quantity) coconuts, limes, breadfruit, squash, bananas, papayas, and sugar cane.

The small island, about 1/6 the size of Bikini Atoll which is 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) long, also suffers from overpopulation.

Residents must import food paid for by a settlement agreement with the United States government to supplement what they can grow locally.

Imports are overseen by the Bikini Public Works Department, which also maintains houses and runs the power plant on the island.

Beginning in 2011 the resettled residents of Kili Island began to experience periods of ocean flooding they attribute to global warming.

Toward the end of their eighth grade year, students must pass a standardized test to gain admission to public high school in Jaluit or Majuro.