The Raman Research Institute was founded by Nobel laureate Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1948 with funds from private sources. The main activity of the institute was basic research into selected areas of physics which were of particular interest to Professor Raman. In December 1934 the government of Mysore gave the Indian Academy of Sciences a plot of land in Bangalore. In 1956 Professor Raman also donated various properties for the use of the Raman Research Institute.
After Professor Raman's death in November, 1970, the academy created a public charitable educational trust called Raman Research Institute Trust (RRI Trust) to administer the institute's assets.
The institute was reorganized in 1972 and started receiving funds from the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. The institute is administered by a governing council.
Currently, the main areas of research are Astronomy and Astrophysics, Liquid Crystals , Theoretical Physics and Optics.