The station is connected to Grand Century Place, a large shopping mall.

The station, initially named Yaumati, was constructed on 1 October 1910 to cope with the opening of the British Section of Kowloon–Canton Railway.

Yaumati was the old name of Yau Ma Tei, which is rarely used today.

After the takeover of KCR operations by the MTR Corporation on 2 December 2007, the station was renamed to Mong Kok East.

Platform 1 is the terminus platform for some southbound trains during peak hours and the train will return northbound towards Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau.