Relations focus on economic and educational cooperation, and development assistance.

During World War II, in 1941, 429 Polish refugees from German- and Soviet-occupied Poland, including 209 men (mostly elders), 143 women and 77 children, were sheltered in various places in Zambia.

[1] The largest number, 170 Poles, stayed in Livingstone, with other locations including Fort Jameson, Mazabuka, Monze, Lusaka, Kafue.

[2] In the following years, additional Polish refugees were admitted in Fort Jameson, Livingstone, Lusaka, Abercorn and Bwana Mkubwa, and by December 1944, their total number in Northern Rhodesia grew to 2,894.

[5] In 2019, the Polish government sent 22 tons of medical equipment to Zambia, destined for 18 various healthcare facilities, in what Minister Michał Woś dubbed the largest humanitarian aid provided by the Polish government to date.