The district was created in February 1923 as part of
Donets Governorate of the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1932, it became part of the newly created
Donetsk Oblast. During
World War II, the raion was occupied by
Nazi Germany between October 1941 and September 1943, who committed atrocities against the local population. In September 1959, when
Olhynka Raion was abolished, part of its former territory was transferred to Marinka Raion. In 2014, during the
war in Donbas, small eastern parts of Marinka Raion were taken over by the self-styled
Donetsk People's Republic, a Russian-backed
breakaway state claiming the territory of all of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. Due to the violence, many residents of the raion became refugees, fleeing their homes in eastern Marinka Raion to other parts of Ukraine or to other countries. The last estimate of the raion population was ==Demographics==