QIMR Berghofer began operations in 1947 with a staff of seven in a disused World War II US Army hut in Victoria Park, Brisbane.

From 1951 to 1965, at a field station in North Queensland, QIMR researchers investigated outbreaks of leptospirosis, scrub typhus, dengue and other tropical fevers.

One project researched cancer cells taken from Burkitt's lymphoma patients in Papua New Guinea, and found they were infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

The Queensland Premier at the time, Mike Ahern, secured $30 million to fund a new building for QIMR Berghofer's increasing staff.

The new building was officially opened in 1991, and was named the Bancroft Centre, as a memorial to the family who contributed to QIMR Berghofer's early history.

In 1997, a philanthropic donation of $20 million, matched by both the federal and state governments, was used to build the Cancer Research Centre, named after contributor Clive Berghofer.

Q-Pharm Pty Ltd is owned by QIMR Berghofer, and is a Phase I clinical trials facility to test potential new therapeutic products on humans.