The station was planned as part of Phase One of the MRT system's development, and was initially named Thomson.

[4] In 1984, a Jewish cemetery along Thomson Road was cleared to make way for the station, with the graves reinterred in Choa Chu Kang,[5] and to prevent soil subsidence, the tunnels connecting Novena and Newton were built in compressed air.

[3] In June 1985, a worker was killed at the station site after receiving head injuries from being struck by moving components of a tunnel boring machine.

[6] Novena station opened on 12 December 1987, as part of the extension of the MRT system to Outram Park.

[12] As a part of the heritage-themed comic connect by SMRT, the station features a mural by local artist David Liew.