[2] The Corporation is headed by a mayor and council,[3] and manages 118.58 km2 of the city of Kozhikode, with a population of about 609,224 within that area.

The ancient port of Tyndis which was located on the northern side of Muziris, as mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, was somewhere around Kozhikode.

[6] Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos (Chera dynasty).

[11][12] In the 14th century, Kozhikode conquered larger parts of central Kerala after the seize of Tirunavaya region from Valluvanad, which were under the control of the king of Perumbadappu Swaroopam (Cochin).

[14] The Portuguese arrived at Kappad Kozhikode in 1498 during the Age of Discovery, thus opening a direct sea route from Europe to South Asia.

[15] The port at Kozhikode was the gateway to South Indian coast for the Arabs, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and finally the British.

Kozhikode Municipal Corporation is divided into 75 wards for ease of administration from which a member is elected from each for a duration of five years.