During the reign of the Arsacid dynasty (52-428 AD) and later under Sasanid Persia (428-651), the area of Maralik was ruled by the Kamsarakan Armenian noble family.

[3] Under the Bagratid rule, many religious and educational complexes were built in the area of present-day Maralik, according to inscriptions found among the remains of medieval Armenian churches and khachkars of the 9th and 11th centuries.

After the fall of Armenia to the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and later to the Seljuk invaders in 1064, the entire region of Shirak entered an era of downfall in all aspects.

With the establishment of the Zakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate, the region of Shirak, entered into a new period of growth and stability.

After World War I, the settlement was included within the borders of the newly founded Republic of Armenia, who enjoyed a sort-lived independence from May 1918 until December 1920, when it fell to the invading Soviet Red Army.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Maralik became an urban community within the newly formed Shirak Province as per the administrative reforms of 1995 of independent Armenia.

Maralik is situated at the northwestern foot of Mount Aragats within the Shirak Plain, at a height of 1,720 meters above sea level, at a 24 km road distance south of the provincial centre Gyumri.

Surrounded with dry steppes, Maralik has a humid continental climate, characterized with mild and cool summers and extremely cold and snowy winters.

The archaeological site at the northeastern vicinity of the town is home to a cyclopean fortress and a settlement, both dating back to the 2nd millennium BC.

[7] Maralik is the hometown of the fictional character Petra Arkanian in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series.

The Rublyovka historic quarter located at the north of Maralik, was recently renovated to serve as a touristic centre housing a hotel and restaurant.

The town has produced many judo and karate champions of the Soviet Union and independent Armenia, including Aleksan Avetisyan (former president of the Armenian Olympic Committee in 1994–1999), Hakob Sukiasyan, Hrach Nazaryan, Yura Simonyan, Armen Grigoryan, Ruben Shavoyan and Alina Rubinyan.