It was founded as a suburb of Baku in 1944 and received city status on 22 November 1949, growing into a major industrial center during the Soviet period.

One folk legend tells the tale of a hero by the name of "Sum", who is chosen by the community to fight a monster that was blocking the Sumgait River.

During the construction boom, when the foundation of the executive power building was being excavated, remains of an ancient caravanserai along with personal items and kitchenware was found at the site.

[citation needed] The first reports of settlements at the present site of Sumgait were in 1580, when English traveller H. Barrow mentioned Sumgait in his writings and in 1858, when Alexander Dumas wrote about the area in his memoirs Trip to Caucasus, although nothing substantial was created on the site until the Soviet Union gained control over the area in the 1920s.

[10] It killed more than 30 people, wounded some 200, and produced thousands of refugees; most of the victims were Armenians who constituted a large minority of the population.

[11] After the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city became home to a number of Azerbaijani refugees internally displaced persons, mainly from Qubadli and Zengilan regions.

The report also mentioned cancer rates in Sumgait were as much as 51% higher than the national average and that genetic mutations and birth defects were commonplace.

[17] The city administration prepared an environmental protection plan for 2003–2010 which has been steadily decreasing the levels of pollution to minimal.

The World Bank has issued a loan to the Azerbaijani government for construction of a burial range for mercury waste.

[24][25] The Syrian Civil War and emergence of ISIL forced authorities to take action on crackdown of perceived religious radicals in Sumgait.

[24][26][27] In 1935, the Soviet government decided to develop heavy industry in the Absheron Peninsula, and the future location of Sumgait was chosen based on its proximity to Baku and its key position on the existing railroad lines.

The first production of Sumgait Chemical Plant led to a rapid growth and construction boom, creating a new job market, and a need for a resident population.

The same year, another new Synthetic Rubber Production Plant started its operations producing ethylene obtained from oil.

In 1957–1955, a number of scientific research facilities and cultural centres were built, leading to further development of the city infrastructure.

SCIP aims to attract domestic and foreign investors, and its management has already received proposals for 20 investment projects in the complex.

The result of years of research were numerous scientific publications and a book about architectural and planning development of the city of Sumgait.

[31][32] Sumgait was credited as the main regional driving force behind rock bands of the 1990s including Yuxu, Miraj, Mozalan, and Sirr.

In the eastern section of the park, Shehidler Khiyabani, similar to Martyrs' Lane in Baku, was established as a burial ground for thousands of soldiers from Sumgait who died during the war.