The first issue of the science and practice journal «Theory and Practice of Forensic Science» came out in 2006 after the publication was registered as a periodical.

The journal became the logical and natural continuation of the scientific digest «Theory and Practice of Forensic Criminalistics» (10 volumes published between 1955 and 1962) and the ongoing series «Forensic Technology» (132 issues since 1963), as well as «Proceedings of the Central Research Institute of Forensic Sciences (CRIFS)» and «Proceedings of the All-Soviet Research Institute of Forensic Sciences (ASRIFS)». There were two volumes of «Proceedings of CRIFS» published in 1967 and 1970, and a total of 107 volumes of «Proceedings of ASRIFS» published between 1967 and 2005.

These publications were initially intended for in-house use by employees of forensic science institutes of the Russian Ministry of Justice; they were released in limited print runs and not very well known to the wider audience. However, as the interest in such literature kept growing, the editorial scope was expanded to accept not only works produced within the system of FSIs of the Ministry of Justice, but also those submitted by outside authors, including foreign specialists. This further enhanced the value of the journal and its significance for the forensic science community, which prompted the administration of the RFCFS of the Ministry of Russia, the legal successor of CRIFS and ASRIFS, and the journal's editorial board to adopt an open access policy.