It is 77 miles 7 chains (124.1 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Ipswich to the south and Stowmarket to the north.

The main building, described as "one of the best in East Anglia" by Biddle, was designed in a grand Jacobean style with decorative brickwork by Frederick Barnes and was completed by the contractor, Daniel Revitt, in 1849.

It was later slightly simplified, and the platforms rebuilt, by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

The station was closed by the Eastern Region of British Railways in 1967 but reopened as Needham Market in 1971.

In April 2015 work commenced to improve the station, including the installation of an anti-slip composite fibreglass platform[3] (Dura Platform) which features a patented design with in-built water management and snow-melting capabilities.