The name “Maguindanao” formerly referred to the old Cotabato Province, which occupied the entire southwestern portion of Mindanao. Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan introduced Islam in the area at the end of the 15th century.

The attempt of the Spaniards to subdue Muslims aroused the ire of the Maguindanaos who initiated retaliation raids on Spanish mission sites. Maguindanao Muslims were never actually conquered by the Spaniards up to the middle of the 19th century.

When the Americans established a colonial government in the country, Cotabato became one of the districts of the Moro Province established in 1903. In 1914, it became one of the provinces of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu.

Since the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines in 1946, the life of the Maguindanao Muslims, who compose the majority of the population of Maguindanao, has been characterized by an intense degree of Islamic consciousness. It became a regular province on November 22, 1973. It is now a part of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao under Executive Order No. 429 dated October 12, 1990.