The earliest recorded mention of Sibugay was in Historia de las islas de Mindanao, Jolo y sus adyacentes (1667) by the Spanish priest Francisco Combés, which describes the village of "Sibuguey" along the river Sibuguey.

Attempts to divide Zamboanga del Sur into two separate provinces date as far back as the 1960s.

341 through Congressman Vicente M. Cerilles and the Batasan Parliamentary Bill sponsored by parliament members (Antonio Ceniza, Manuel M. Espaldon, Hussien Loong, Kalbi Tupay, and Minister Romulo Espaldon).

He managed to push the bill in Congress and gave it a new identity by naming the proposed province as Zamboanga Sibugay.

On February 22, 2001, R.A. 8973 was ratified through a plebiscite conducted in 44 municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur and Pagadian City.

Zamboanga del Sur Third District Representative George Hofer was appointed and later elected as its first governor in 2001.

To the north it intersects the common municipal boundaries of Kalawit, Tampilisan, and Godod of Zamboanga del Norte.

Zamboanga Sibugay comprises 16 municipalities, organized into two congressional districts and further subdivided into 389 barangays.

Various sectarian groups are also present such as Baptists, Born-again Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Seventh-Day Adventist[citation needed].