Trade between Poland and Portugal was established several centuries ago and was conducted by sea through the main port cities of Gdańsk and Lisbon.

[1] The Portuguese imported mainly wood, flour and dried fish from Poland, while the Poles imported mainly salt from Portugal, as well as olive oil, figs, raisins, oranges, pomegranates, chestnuts, wine, and expensive furs.

During World War I, Poles from the Russian Partition of Poland conscripted to the Russian Army and the Portuguese were among Allied prisoners of war held by the Germans in a POW camp in Stargard in modern northwestern Poland.

The Polish People's Republic criticized the regime of António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal and did not admit the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with Lisbon.

However, the Carnation Revolution and political transformations in Portugal made it possible for the establishment of diplomatic relations.