The archaeological Museum Osijek was founded in 1877 and was called the Museum of free Royal city of Osijek. The Museum was founded on the initiative and donations (numismatic collection, a collection of ancient weapons, and literature) the merchant of Franjo Selakovich. In 1878, the first curator of the Museum was appointed Andrew Cedric. In the first decades of existence, the Museum was filled solely by the donations of the rich and famous citizens of the city of Osijek, among whom were the Franjo Selakovich, Carl Ober, Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Emerick hildi and Dr. Carl Colic. This collection was and remains the largest donation in the history of the Museum.

One of the renowned Museum staff was Vekoslav Celestin – curator of the Museum since 1893. He worked at the Museum for almost 43 years, was a diligent worker and professional. This confirms the fact that he is known in museums in Croatia and abroad. He did almost all the work: worried about the recruiting and registration of Museum collections, carried out a systematic verification of documentation from archaeological excavations and ending ethnographic materials. For his work Celestine is rightly considered one of the founders of the Museum. By the end of the tenure of the curator in 1933 he founded the Club archaeological society "Moores" (in 1937 it was renamed the Society of friends of antiquities "Moores"), which was an important contribution to the work of the Museum.

The Museum throughout its history often changed its location. And since 1946 and to this day he is in Osijek citadel – a former city Duma.

During the war the Museum was badly damaged, but fortunately, the entire collection remained almost untouched. The worst damage was caused by the rains and improper storage. The permanent exhibition was taken to a safe place. But during constant shelling, the work of the Museum has been suspended. In 1994, the Museum was given the status of national institutions.