In 1700, after the Great Serb Migration, the Albanian clans of the Kelmendi and Kuçi and other tribes like the Shkreli of Rugova established themselves in the region of Rožaje and the neighboring town of Tutin in Serbia.

Within this time, the Montenegrin Army under King Nikola quickly sought to Serbianize the population, to reduce threats of invasions or uprisings by the Albanian locals.

In 1917, the local Albanian qadi Bajram Balota organised a force of irregulars in the territory held by Austria-Hungary in Montenegro around Berane and Rožaje, with his soldiers and allies persecuting and killing Orthodox Montenegrins.

[13][14] During World War II, the city has seen conflict between the Yugoslav Partisans, the Chetniks, the Sandžak Muslim Militia, and the Albanian Vulnetari.

Mullah Jakup Kardović, who would end up being a prominent commander of the Militia and would participate in the Battle for Novi Pazar, came from the village of Biševo, which is 4–5km away from the city.

In 1992, the Gornji Ibar company was liquidated and subsequently went out of business, which left the city in economic turmoil.

During the Bosnian War, the Bosniaks of Foča who managed to escape the massacre that happened in the area resettled in Rožaje.

[17] The municipality is situated on large hills, with the mountains Hajla, Mokra Gora, Ahmica, Krstac, Žljeb, Štedim and Turjak to its east and southeast.

During the winter months, the surrounding mountains experience a major cold front, with snow and ice being very common within the city, and the municipality itself.

Ethnic Albanians, have been present within the city, as well as the outskirts, especially villages that are close to the border of Kosovo (such as Dacići, Balotići, Plumci, Bać, Besnik, etc).

They enjoy and support mutual relations with the Bosniaks and other ethnicities within the city and have also become an integral part of Rožaje's society.

Albeit very small in terms of population size, the Serbs (2.56%) have also lived in Rožaje for some time, and usually have amicable relations with the other ethnic communities in the city.

Montenegrin, Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian are mutually intelligible as standard varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language.

Historically, Islam has played a significant role in shaping the cultural and social fabric of the town.

However, due to the opening of the Bar-Boljare motorway in November of 2021, the time from getting to Rožaje from Podgorica has greatly reduced, and is slowly becoming more preferred over the earlier option for most of the diaspora from other countries.