Sri Lanka had been under British colonial rule for a long period of time. During that period, people had to encounter many trials and tribulations with the social changes that had arisen along with the commencement of tea cultivation in the lands of the wet zone, the collapse of irrigation systems in the dry zone, the people being concentrated in the southwestern wet zone, less attention received for paddy cultivation, prioritizing the commercial economy over the self-sufficient economy, and the scarcity of food due to the World War I. This situation drew the special attention of the local representatives of the state council. Further, there was a need for an expedient program for food production, and it was also required to settle the population concentrated in the southwestern area in the rest of the island. Therefore, a land commission was appointed for the first time in Sri Lanka in 1927 to implement the recommendations regarding the aforesaid. As per the recommendations of the said commission, the Land Commissioner’s Department was established and Mr. C.V. Brayne was appointed as the first Land Commissioner in Sri Lanka in 1931. Accordingly, all the powers pertaining to the lands belonging to the state were vested in this department. The main duties assigned thereby to the Land Commissioner’s Department were implementing five special development programs: ‘Maha Govi Janapada’ (Farmers Colony), high lands project, village expansion project, youth project and middle class project, selecting land beneficiaries (through Land Kachcheri) and disposition of lands.

The Land Settlement Ordinance was introduced in 1931 to separately identify the lands belonging to the state and the private lands. The Land Development Ordinance was enacted in 1935 and in terms of the said ordinance, all the powers pertaining to the ownership, disposition and the development of all state lands were vested in this department.

The State Lands Ordinance was introduced in 1947 to facilitate the alienation of lands to various departments, institutions and persons for commercial and residential purposes, the identification of various reservations, the administration of coastal areas, the control of public lakes and streams, and the powers pertaining to the aforesaid were thereby vested in the Land Commissioner’s Department. A Land Reform Commission was appointed as per the Land Reform Act No. 01 of 1972. Accordingly, the ownership of all lands above 50 acres was taken over to the commission. In terms of to the Land Grants Special Provisions Act established in 1979, the Land Commissioner's Department was assigned the role of returning the said land that was taken over to the Land Reform Commission to the government and distributing them to the public.

The State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act was introduced in 1979 to evict the persons from unauthorized possession of state lands and recover the possession and its responsibility was also vested in the Land Commissioner's Department.

Part of the affairs of land was assigned to the provincial council under Schedule 11 of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of 1987. Further, the administration of lands related to inter-provincial development schemes was assigned to the Land Commissioner’s Department. The districts of Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Matale, Kandy, Badulla, Ampara, Batticaloa, Monaragala, Hambantota and Ratnapura which fall under the inter-provincial area are divided into six zones as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Mahiyanganaya, Debarawewa and Ampara and Deputy Land Commissioners, Assistant Land Commissioners, Colonization Officers and Field Instructors are appointed to facilitate its administration.

As per the decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers on 03.09.2004, the Land Commissioner’s Department was upgraded as the “Land Commissioner General’s Department” with effect from 15.09.2014. Accordingly, the powers of the Land Commissioner were vested in the "Land Commissioner General".