Information about the origins of Coimbatore is scarce. During the early period it was ruled by the Karur Sangam era Chera . Later, the region passed to the Kongu Rattas and was the heartland of the Ganga kingdoms. A second Chola empire arose in the mid-9th century, and gained the territory encompassing Coimbatore. They established a planned layout, with the Koniamman temple in the center.

Coimbatore played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War against the British in 1801, when the first attack was done against the British Columns stationed in Coimbatore by the Poligars of Salem, Coimbatore and Dindigul region along with some Malabar and Mysore rebels.

In 1804 Coimbatore was established as a capital for the newly formed Coimbatore district and in 1848, it was accorded the municipality status. Sir Robert Stanes, a British entrepreneur and philanthropist, became the first Chairman of the Coimbatore City Council and also founded the Stanes School in 1862, a major higher secondary school that stands till date as a jewel of the city.

In 1981 Coimbatore became a corporation with annexation of the Singanallur municipality.

The city has six major arterial roads and three National Highways,

NH-47 (Kanyakumari–Salem),
NH-67 (Mysore–Nagappattinam) and
NH-209 (Bangalore–Dindigul)
passing through the city.

The city has an airport (Coimbatore Airport) at Peelamedu (11 km from the city) and an air-force base at Sulur (15 km). Broad gauge trains connect Coimbatore to all parts of India, with a meter gauge line connecting the city to Dindigul (this is now under gauge conversion).

Trains first began serving Coimbatore in 1872, upon construction of the Podanur(Coimbatore South)-Madras line connecting Kerala and the west coast with the rest of India. It is second highest revenue yielding station in Southern railways.

Coimbatore is the highest revenue earning district in Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore is called the Manchester of South India due to its extensive textile industry, fed by the surrounding cotton fields. It is also called as the pump city of INDIA. The City houses large number of small scale engineering companies. The motor and pump industry supplies two thirds of India’s requirements, while its wet-grinder industry has a near monopoly. However, agriculture is still the major occupation in the district as in any other part of the Country.

General trade attracts people from all over the state including the neighbouring Kerala. The neighbouring town of Tirupur is home to Asia’s largest garment manufacturing companies, exporting hosiery clothes worth more than Rs. 50,000 million. Coimbatore is also emerging as an IT and BPO city.

Some of the major industries are Lakshmi Machine Works(LMW), Premier Instruments & Control Limited(PRICOL), ELGI Equipments, Shanti gears, LGB, Roots Industries, Pump industries like CRI Pumps, Deccan Pumps, Texmo Industries,contribute a lot to the city. other industries LMW ,PSG, Sakthi group contribute a lot, and the now closed South India Viscose are one of the major employers in the city.

Coimbatore also has a 160,000 square feet trade fair ground, built in 1999. It was named COINTEC due to its hosting of INTEC (Small Industries Exhibition). The Trade Fair complex, one of the country's largest,was built in six months, and is owned by CODISSIA (Coimbatore District Small Industries Association). It is also the country's largest pillar-free hall,according to the Limca Book of Records.

The IT industry in Coimbatore is nascent, with Cognizant, Perot Systems, Robert Bosch.

Motor sports plays a large part in the city, with Coimbatore often referred to as the "Motor sports Capital of India" and the "Backyard of Indian Motorsports". Some wealthy industrialists, such as S.Karivardhan, who had a penchant for tinkering with machines and cars, plunged into motor racing, later making Coimbatore the country's motor racing hub.

The city has a Formula 3 Category circuit, as well as three Go-Kart circuits. National Champion races for Formula racing (Cars), Motorcycle racing, Go-Kart racing are held in Kari Motor Speedway. Super Speeds designs and constructs almost all Formula cars. Rallying is another major event with all teams based in Coimbatore. Rallies are conducted in closed roads around Coimbatore districts.

Narain Karthikeyan is the city's most famous driver, being the first Indian to enter Formula 1 in 2005 with Team Jordan. Other famous motorsport personalities from Coimbatore are former Formula 3 driver J.Anand and seven time national rallying champions N. Leela Krishnan and V. R. Naren Kumar.