The history of lands that currently constitute the Silesian Voivodeship (historically these are terrains of Silesia and Lesser Poland) is very turbulent. The region of Silesia has been bonded with Poland since 990, yet over the following centuries has been passed from hands to hands due to political and economic benefits its rulers would gain. Unique culture and customs of Silesia had been shaped mostly by Polish, German and Czech influences. In 9th century the area had been inhabited by Opolans, Vistulans and Golensizi tribes. No later than 990 A.D., when Polans were forming their state, these tribes were still independent. The rule over them had been taken by Mieszko I. For several centuries Silesia had been a subject of dispute between the Polish and Czech states. During the feudal fragmentation period, the western part of today’s voivodeship (including Racibórz and Cieszyn) has been incorporated into the province of Silesia, while the remaining lands to the Seniorate Province. In the late 12th c., Bytom and Siewierz, together with western Silesia, had been integrated into the Duchy of Racibórz and Duchy of Opole, while Częstochowa and Będzin remained in the Duchy of Kraków. In 15th and 16th c. the area underwent further fragmentation into smaller duchies. In 1526, Silesia and Bohemia (Czech state) went under the rule of Archduchy of Austria and the lands were governed by the Piast dynasty, subjects of the Habsburg Monarchy.

In the times of the Protestant Reformation, religious transformations took place all across Poland and found a particularly fertile ground in Upper Silesia. The cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion) principle was predominant at the time, and since George of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who owned the majority of Upper Silesia lands, was an ardent supporter of Lutheranism, in 1532 first Protestant church in Upper Silesia had been erected in Tarnowskie Góry (being the only church in town). In Cieszyn, thanks to Adam Wenceslaus's and his mother's efforts to propagate Protestantism, Lutheranism prevailed throughout the Duchy at the turn of 17th c. Almost the whole state country of Pless adopted the teachings of Luther as well. Inhabitants of Wodzisław Śląski, Chorzów, Czechowice, Gliwice and a few other cities, however, practised Catholicism like their rulers.

The domination of Protestantism in Silesia did not cease until several dozen years later, after the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). The custom of putting figures of Saints in towns' central points became one of the manifestations of the Counter-Reformation. In 17th c. a wave of conflicts and natural disasters swept across the area of today's voivodeship, starting from the Thirty Years' War, through the Swedish Deluge and stopping at numerous epidemics, which decimated the population. The Swedish Deluge had a tragic impact on, for instance, the development of Częstochowa, which was then destroyed. However, the Pauline Monastery, home to the Black Madonna painting, managed to defend itself (Augustyn Kordecki was the commander of defense). Częstochowa also played a very important role in 1769 during the battles of the Bar Confederation.

As a result of three wars, Silesia had been retrieved from the Habsburg Monarchy and the region (except for the Duchy of Cieszyn) passed into the rule of the victorious Prussia. After the Partitions of Poland, the lands of the present-day Silesia lay within the borders of Prussia and Austria. The eastern part of the region (together with Częstochowa) belonged to the Duchy of Warsaw for several years in the first part of the 19th c. The borders of the three patritioner states converged in the vicinity of Mysłowice, in the place called, at the end of 19th c., the Three Emperors' Corner (currently, there is a monument and the area is available for tourists). In the times of Prussian Partition, germanization intensified in Silesia. In 1810 Polish was banned in schools and in 1876 German became the only oficial langauge in Prussia. The Silesians, though, fiercely resisted the progressing germanization.

It is impossible not to mention the most important characters that moderated the process of political and national revival in the region, namely Józef Lompa, Józef Szafranek, Karol Miarka, and Paweł Stalmach in Cieszyn Silesia. Among the efforts taken in order to unite the society and not to let it forget about its nationality were: the establishing of singing and drama groups, amateur orchestra, units of the Falcon Gymnastic Society, Catholic youth organizations, women's associations, the arranging of trips to Kraków, Poznań, and pilgrimages to Częstochowa. In Cieszyn Silesia Polish societies were founded: Agricultural, Scientific Aid , Savings and Advances; magazines were being handed out - including Gwiazda Cieszyńska (Cieszyn Star) and in the city of Cieszyn a Polish secondary school was founded (1885). In 1903 Wojciech Korfanty became a member of parliment, and in the election of 1908 for the first time Poles won three seats to the Prussian parliament. Such lively activities alarmed the authorities, who adopted the emergency laws, greatly limiting the freedom of citizens (the same restrictions applied in the Province of Posen).

After World War I the conflict between Poland and Germany resulted in three Silesian Uprisings and the Polish-Czech war of Cieszyn Silesia ended with the establishment of the border on the Olza River. Czechs have been left the most industrialized part of the land, and the town of Cieszyn was divided along Olza River. In March 1921, in Upper Silesia a plebiscite was conducted on the incorporation of the area to Germany or Poland. Unfavorable for the Polish, the proposal of the Triple Entente of partition of Upper Silesia led to the outbreak of the Third Uprising, which was headed by Wojciech Korfanty. The final decision on the affiliation of Upper Silesia has been made by the Council of the League of Nations, assigning Poland only 29% of the plebiscite territory (the western part of the present voivodeship with Racibórz, Bytom, Zabrze and Gliwice remained on the German side), yet the area included most of the coal, zinc and lead mines, all the iron mines, all zinc, lead and silver plants, and most of the ironworks. The lands of Silesia were incorporated into the three Polish voivodeships of Silesia, Cracow and Kielce. Silesian Voivodeship was the most industrialized area in Poland and received autonomy with a parliament and treasure of its own. The coexistence of the Polish, German, Jewish, Czech and Slovak populations living in Silesia was difficult, but possible. Moreover, their coexistence in the Upper Silesia divided between Poland and Germany was to be supported by the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1922.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, most of the territory of Silesia was incorporated into the Reich. Silesians were forced to enroll in the German army (some of them fled later from the front line to join the army of General Anders) and the industry to switch to military production. Numerous labour and concentration camps were established where former Silesian insurgents, political activists, priests and Jewish population were exterminated in the first instance. Upon the urging of the administrative authorities and the priests, the majority (90%) of the residents of Upper Silesia declared German nationality and enlisted into the so-called Volksliste (German People’s List), a German national list whose recording was conducted in years 1941-42. Since the beginning of the war, there were vibrant underground organizations functioning in the region.

After the World War II, the authorities decided to employ prisoners at launching of the Upper Silesian industry. These prisoners lived and worked in inhuman conditions in labor camps, created, for instance, in Jaworzno, Świętochłowice and Chorzów. Despite the fact that almost all of the equipment of industrial plants had been exported by the Red Army, it was possible to quickly restore workplaces and the pre-war level of industrial production, the diligence and dedication of Poles greatly contributed to the cause. The communist authorities were suspicious towards the native population of Upper Silesia, considering it Germanized and not to be granted Polish citizenship. Volksliste came to be an important element of verification. People enlisted in the third and fourth group (natives regarded by the Germans as partly Polonized and people of Polish nationality collaborating with the Third Reich) received citizenship after the declaration of fidelity, and the citizens figuring in the first and second group (people of German nationality) had to undergo a verification procedure.

In the postwar period, an important politician in Silesia was General George Ziętek, a Silesian insurgent, voivode and a member of the Council of State. From an economic point of view, the initial period of Edward Gierek's rule (1970-1980), was favorable to Silesia. The state owes to him, among others, the construction of new roads and modern complex of holiday homes in Ustroń (Beskid Mountains). However, the privileges granted to Silesian workers by Gierek caused an intensification of the already existing antagonisms between the Silesians and the rest of the country. On 16 December 1981, in Katowice's Wujek Mine a strike burst against the recent imposition of martial law and nine miners were killed during its pacification.