Tatau River was once under the control of the Bruneian Empire until 1861 when it was ceded to James Brooke and became part of the Raj of Sarawak.

[2] Tatau is traditionally a home to Iban, Melanau, Chinese, Malay and Orang Ulu people.

Agriculture is relatively minor although growing steadily, with oil palm, rattan and pepper the main products.

Although Tatau is well connected to other parts of Sarawak with good networks of road, river transports still play the vital role in Bintulu.

River transport charges remain high in Tatau District due to the long distance of the upriver areas.

There are some rural areas which are accessible by timber tracks and palm estate roads such as Kakus.

Pan-Borneo Highway is a trunk road linking Tatau District to the rest of Sarawak.