The name of Nácori comes from the Opata language and means place of the nopal cactus.
It was founded in 1645 by the Spanish missionary Cristóbal García with the name of Nuestra Señora de Nácori Chico;[2] it became a municipality in its own right in 1934.
In 1886, Mexican Army militia fought Americans and Apaches sixty miles southeast of the town in an incident known as the Crawford Affair.
The main economic activities are agriculture, cattle raising, and forestry.
The main crops are corn, beans and grasses for cattle fodder.