The settlement was possibly founded in the 11th century and it became part of the
Novgorod Republic, which was later annexed in 1478 by the
Grand Principality of Moscow, the new leading Russian state. Kandalaksha is first mentioned in documents in 1517. In a decree by
Vasili III of Russia to local tax collectors, Kandalaksha is mentioned as the center of a
volost. The same year, Kandalaksha (Kokuyev) male monastery was founded near the . In 1854, during the
Crimean War, the town was plundered by the British. In 1915, the construction of a seaport started, and in 1918 a railroad connecting
Moscow to
Murmansk running through Kandalaksha was opened. On August 29, 1927, Kandalaksha was made the
administrative center of the newly established
Kandalakshsky District, and on June 1, 1932, it was granted
work settlement status. Status of a town of district significance was granted to it on April 20, 1938. While the district was nominally retained as a separate administrative division, all its subdivisions were administratively subordinated to the town's Council of Deputies. In 2025,
Yleisradio Oy reported that a military garrison was being built in the town. ==International relations==