Its administrative center was the urban-type settlement of Velyka Mykhailivka.

[3] The area was settled after 1792, when the lands between the Southern Bug and the Dniester were transferred to Russia according to the Iasi Peace Treaty.

The area was included in Tiraspol Uyezd, which belonged to Yekaterinoslav Viceroyalty until 1795, Voznesensk Viceroyalty until 1796, Novorossiya Governorate until 1803, and Kherson Governorate until 1920.

In 1923, uyezds in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic were abolished, and the governorates were divided into okruhas.

At the time of disestablishment, the raion consisted of four hromadas:[6] According to the 2001 census, the majority of the population of the Velîka Mîhailivka district was Ukrainian -speaking (80.36%), with Russian (15.36%) and Romanian (2.95%) speakers in the minority.