The station opened on 23 August 1916 as part of the extension of the Nord-Sud company's line A from Jules Joffrin.

Porte de la Chapelle was the terminus of line 12 until 18 December 2012, when an extension opened to Front Populaire.

The station is named after the Porte de la Chapelle, a gate in the nineteenth century Thiers wall of Paris, on the Rue de la Chapelle, the old Roman road to Calais via Saint-Denis, now Route nationale 1.

The station is featured in "Crossroads", an episode of the American HBO series "Band of Brothers".

Work is under way to extend the line into the commune of Aubervilliers, initially to Front Populaire, which opened in 2012.