Mianwali District was an agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley Civilization.

[5] Before the British rule, the area formed an integral portion of the Graeco-Bactrian Empire of Kabul and the Punjab.

[6] Immediately preceding the annexation of the Punjab by the British after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, this area was part of the Sikh Empire.

The British had made the town of Mianwali as tehsil headquarters of Bannu District, then part of Dera Ismail Khan Division of Punjab province.

The city has an airport built near the old World War II aerodrome and known as M.M.Alam Base Mianwali.

Notable locations in the vicinity of the city include: The Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (or CHASNUPP), is a large commercial nuclear power plant located in the vicinities of Chashma colony in Mianwali District Punjab in Pakistan.

It was established in 2000, the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant became operational, when it joined the nation's grid system with China National Nuclear Corporation overseeing the grid connections of the power plant.

Originally a World War II airstrip, it was decided that Mianwali would be upgraded into a satellite airbase for PAF Base Mushaf (then PAF Base Sargodha) during the 1965 Indo-Pak War to act as an alternate recovery airfield.

The rest of 79.18% of the rural population is spread around the district in small villages called Moza's.