NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781, and independently found by William Herschel in 1788.

Measured orbital velocities of its globular cluster system[6] imply that dark matter makes up only 34%±45% of the mass within 5 effective radii, a notable paucity.

One of the most outstanding features of NGC 5866 is the extended dust disk, which is seen almost exactly edge-on.

[7] This dust lane is highly unusual for a lenticular galaxy.

The dust in most lenticular galaxies is generally found only near the nucleus and generally follows the light profile of the galaxies' bulges.