Granted town rights before 1255, in the late Middle Ages it was one of the most important urban centers of Lesser Poland.

In 1257, prince Bolesław V the Chaste gave the town together with 25 nearby villages to the Order of Poor Ladies.

At that time, it was located along a merchant route from Kraków to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and profited from taxes on goods transported on the Vistula.

Furthermore, after the Partitions of Poland Zawichost was located near Russian - Austrian border, which hampered its development.

During World War II, German occupiers opened a ghetto in Zawichost, with 5,000 Jews.

In 1944, fierce fighting between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army took place in Zawichost, in which most of the town was destroyed.