Patna museum was established in the year 1917 by the British Government.The building of the museum was built in the style of Rajput and Mughal architecture.It is a multipurpose museum.The museum is the storehouse of archaeological objects, coins, art objects, paintings, instruments, textiles, paintings, thankas, bronze images and sculptures and terracotta. Patna museum is divided into 11 different sections.

There are numerous pre historic elements in the museum including paleoliths, microliths and neoliths which were mostly collected from Bihar and surrounding state. The Chellean and Acheulean implements from Attirampakkam (Tamilnadu) deserve special mention. The museum has the biggest assortment of copper objects. These elements were gathered from different part of the state.

The museum has a magnificent collections of stone sculpture. Among these the famous Didarganj Yakshi of Mauryan period, stone sculpture of a Jain Tirthankar, the lion head are worth mentioning. Apart from that there are significant sculptures based on Gandhara art, Mathura art, Pal-Sena school of art are also found in the museum. The museum has huge and rare collection of Bronzes, which were collected from Buxar, Gaya, Nalanda, Belwa, Dhanbad, Orissa, and Tamilnadu.The eighteen Jain bronzes deserve special mention.

The museum has excellent terracotta collection. The terracotta of Murayan period and of the Pal period are worth mentioning. This museum is also famous for its collection of miniature paintings. There is huge collection of the Rajastahni painting, Mughal painting, Pahari painting, Delhi School and Patna Qalam painting. The museum has a wide variety of coin collections. Different types of coins of Kushanas, Guptas Mughal and of the Sunga period are also preserved there.

Apart from that the 53 feet long fossil tree of 200 million years old,arms of different periods ,some wild life specimens are also on display at the museum.