This museum is a cultural, scientific and educational organization, which is responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of the objects under its curation.

The first museum in Mongolia, the Mongolian National Museum, was established in 1924 and became the basis for other museums, including the National Museum of Mongolian History. Russian scholars, such as Pyotr Kozlov, V. I. Lisovskii, A. D. Simukov, and the American researcher Roy Chapman Andrews contributed to the museum's early collections and exhibits.

The modern National Museum of Mongolian History was established after the merger of the historical, archaeological and ethnographical departments of the State Central Museum and the Museum of the Revolution in 1991. It is now located in a facility built for the Museum of the Revolution, which was founded in 1971. The National Museum of Mongolia is currently recognized as one of the leading museums in Mongolia. The significant responsibility for preserving Mongolian cultural heritage, therefore, lies with the museum. It is also responsible for developing museological guidelines for museums in the nation.

Exhibitions cover prehistory, pre-Mongol Empire history, Mongol Empire, Mongolia during Qing rule, ethnography and traditional life, and twentieth-century history. The ethnographic collection has significant displays of the traditional dress of various Mongolian ethnic groups and snuff bottles. Most exhibits have labels in both Mongolian and English. The museum publishes one or more issues of its in-house journal each year, with articles in Mongolian and foreign languages, including Russian and English.