It is named in honor of the German physicist Max Planck and forms part of the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), an association of 84 institutes engaging in fundamental research in the arts and the sciences.

The MPIM is the only Max Planck institute specializing in pure mathematics.

The Institute was founded by Friedrich Hirzebruch in 1980, having emerged from the collaborative research center "Theoretical Mathematics" (Sonderforschungsbereich "Theoretische Mathematik").

Friedrich Hirzebruch and Yuri Manin were, and Günter Harder, Werner Ballmann, Gerd Faltings and Don Zagier are, acting as emeriti.

[1] The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics offers mathematicians from around the world the opportunity to visit Bonn and engage in sabbatical work lasting from weeks to several months.