Salarjung Museum is the largest one- man collections of the world by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung III (1889-1949). He served as Prime Minister to Nizam 1912, at the age of 23, but resigned two and a half years later. Thereafter he dedicated his whole life collecting antiques and art, which were the only passions of his lonely life. He spent considerable portion of his wealth for collecting them. This museum is well known throughout India for its prized collections of about 40,000 objects belonging to different civilisations dating back to the 1st century. In the year 1961 it was declared to be an "Institution of National Importance" by an Act of Parliament, known as the Salar Jung Museum Act, 1961. The Salar Jung Museum was originally housed in Diwan Devdi. It was shifted to the present building in 1968, which stands on the banks of the Musi.

The museum is full of many such interesting objects. The museum is divided into Indian Art, Children`s Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art, and European Art. The collections displayed include sculptures, wood carvings, religious objects, swords, daggers, armours, manuscripts, furniture, vases, snuff boxes, utensils, archer`s rings, ornaments, pottery, clocks, miniature paintings, portraits, silver, costumes and even toys which come from all over the world, France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Persia, China, Japan, Burma, Sri Lanka.