Enshi Prefecture has undergone multiple changes and was officially established in 1932. During the Spring and Autumn period, it was the territory of Bazi Kingdom; During the Warring States period, it was the territory of Chu; Qin belongs to Qianzhong Commandery; Han Dynasty belonged to Nanjun and Wuling Commanderies; The Three Kingdoms initially belonged to Shu, and later belonged to Wu Jianping Commandery and Wuling Commandery; During the Two Jin Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang, and Northern Zhou, it belonged to Jianping Commandery, Tianmen Commandery, Wuling Commandery, Xinling Commandery, Zigui Commandery, Yezhou Juntun Commandery, and Qingjiang Commandery; During the Sui Dynasty, it belonged to Badong County of Badong Commandery, Qingjiang County, Kaiyi County, and Jianshi County of Qingjiang Commandery; During the Tang Dynasty, it belonged to Badong County in Guizhou, Qingjiang County and Jianshi County in Shizhou; The Five Dynasties were successively occupied by the Former and Later Shu; During the Song Dynasty, it belonged to Badong County in Guizhou, Qingjiang County and Jianshi County in Shizhou, as well as many small rebellious prefectures such as Chenzhou, Fuzhou, Gaozhou, and Dingzhou; In the Yuan Dynasty, it belonged to Badong County in Guizhou and Jianshi County in Shizhou. The southern ethnic minority areas implemented the chieftain system, and successively established chieftains such as Sanmao, Tangya, Jindong, Longtan, Zhongjian, Maoling, and Shinan; At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when Ming Yuzhen occupied Shu, this area was under his control; During the Ming Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Jianshi County in Kuizhou, Badong County in Guizhou, and the Military and Civilian Command Office in Shizhou. The southern region still implemented the chieftain system, with the establishment of Rongmei Pacification Office, Shinan, Sanmao, and Zhongjian Pacification Offices, 9 Pacification Offices, 13 Chief Offices, and 5 Barbarian Chief Offices; In the early Qing Dynasty, the Ming system was adopted. In the sixth year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign (1728), the Shi Zhou Wei was abolished and Enshi County was established. The jurisdiction remained unchanged. In the thirteenth year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign, the land was returned to the flow and Shinan Prefecture was established, which governed Enshi County, Xuanen County, Laifeng County, Xianfeng County, and Lichuan County. In the first year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736), Jianshi County in Kuizhou was placed under Shizhou, and Badong County and Hefeng Prefecture belonged to Yichang Prefecture; In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), the prefecture was abolished and Daocun County was established. In the fourth year of the Republic of China, Jingnan Road was established with its capital in Enshi County, governing 6 counties including Enshi, Jianshi, Xuanen, Laifeng, Xianfeng, and Lichuan. In the fifteenth year of the Republic of China, Jingnan Road was renamed Shihe Road, and Hefeng Prefecture was incorporated into Shihe Road as a county. In the seventeenth year of the Republic of China, the administrative region of western Hubei was established. In the twenty-first year of the Republic of China, it was renamed the tenth administrative supervision area, and Badong County was incorporated. The prefecture was initially governed by 8 counties. In the 25th year of the Republic of China, it was renamed as the Seventh Administrative Inspectorate, and its jurisdiction remained unchanged.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Enshi County was liberated on November 6, 1949, and the Enshi Administrative Region of Hubei Province was established, with a commissioner's office still under the jurisdiction of the original 8 counties. On May 12, 1955, it was renamed the Enshi Commissioner's Office of Hubei Province. During the Cultural Revolution, on January 30, 1967, rebels seized power and the Special Administrative Office was paralyzed. On March 2, with the approval of the Party Committee of the Hubei Provincial Military Region, the Enshi Military Sub district established the Office for Promoting Revolution and Production. On May 13, it was renamed as the Command for Promoting Revolution and Production. In 1968, the Enshi Regional Revolutionary Committee of Hubei Province was established, and in 1978, the Revolutionary Committee was abolished and the Enshi Regional Administrative Office was established. On August 19, 1983, the State Council approved the revocation of the Enshi Administrative Office and the establishment of the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. It was officially established on December 1, with Enshi City and 7 counties including Badong, Jianshi, Lichuan, Laifeng, Xianfeng, Xuanen, and Hefeng under its jurisdiction, totaling 8 counties and cities. On November 14, 1986, Lichuan was upgraded from a county to a city. In 1993, with the approval of the State Council, the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was renamed Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Since 2005, the state anniversary has been designated as August 19th.