The Princely State of Vizianagaram was a native state under the indirect control of the British administration which was supervised by the Indian prince. During the medieval period, the region was conquered by several Hindu Emperors of Kalinga. After the decline of the federal Gajapati Empire of Orissa, the state was governed by the Golkonda (Golconda) emperors. The Pusapati family was the ruling family of the princely state. The ancestors of Maharajas of Vizianagaram state descended from the Ranas of Udaipur (Rajasthan), the Sisodia dynasty of the Guhilot tribe and Vasishta gotra. Amala Raju constructed the village Pooshpadu in Nandigama Taluq, which later became renowned as Pusapadu. Eventually the Kshatriyas who settled in the area came to be identified as Pusapati. The Pericchedis, the earliest ruling family of Andhra Pradesh, were the ancestors of the Pusapatis.

The dynasty of the Pericchedis were generally supporters of Hindu Dharma, where as the Chalukyas were patrons of Jainism initially. After the family moved to the coastal region, the name of the family was altered to Pusapati. The name highlighted their Suryavanshi ancestry, as the name was derived from the Sanskrit term Pushavat, which means the Sun. The family established the territory of Vizianagaram, which was dedicated to Vijay Rama Raju. In the 16th century, the native rulers of the state acquired the title of Gajapathi, after the battle of Nandapur in the Northern Circars.

The fort of Vizianagaram was founded during the year 1712- 1714 AD. Initially there were 5 signs of victory, known as Vijayas, which existed at the time of inception of the Vizianagaram fortress. It was named after its Vijaya Rama Raju, who laid the foundations on the 10th day of the Dussehra Festival in the year Vijaya. Later in the year 1754, Pusapati Vijaya Rama Gajapathi Raju of the ruling family of Vizianagaram made an agreement with the French; but later the state was ceded to the British East India Company. The territory remained under the suzerainty of the British administration until the Indian independence in 1947.

The British Government of India bestowed various honours on Maharaja Vijay Rama Gajapati Raju III in the year 1827. He was also conferred the title and style of His Highness by Lord Northbrook, who also enrolled among the native chiefs entitled to return visits from the Viceroy. The state was honoured as one of the Salute States of India with a gun salute of 13 guns.

After the withdrawal of the British administration, the princely state of Vizianagaram was acceded to the newly formed Dominion of India, also known as the Union of India.