SVIMS was conceived along the lines of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and was established by an act of the Andhra Pradesh State Legislature.

The foundation stone was laid on 18 April 1986 by N. T. Rama Rao, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

The hospital began functioning on 2 February 1993 and later became a Medical State university in 1995.

[citation needed] Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences offers postgraduate courses in almost all super specialty subjects including surgery, medicine, etc.

Similarly it offers a variety of doctoral courses including MCh i Neurosurgery, Cardiac Surgery among others and DM in Cardiology, Neurology etc.