The CIK was founded by the FIA in 1962 as a sister commission to their Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI). In 1978, the FIA created the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) which absorbed the CSI, and the CIK remained with the FIA, becoming known as CIK-FIA. Following the abolition of FISA in the late 1980s and early 1990s, control of automobile sport returned to the FIA and its World Motor Sport Council, which also gained authority over the CIK.
Throughout the 20th century, kart racing became the proving ground for many drivers on the pathway to professional auto racing; in particular, formula racing. The homologation of chassis and engines in 1981 ushered in the “Golden Era” of international karting. In 1985, Alain Prost—the 1973 junior direct-drive Karting World Cup winner—became the first CIK champion to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
The CIK-FIA attempted to re-brand global karting in 2007. This resulted in KF1 becoming the primary direct-drive class and KZ1 as the primary gearbox class. KF2 and KZ2 each replaced ICA and ICC; both classes had been contested since the early 1980s. KF3 replaced ICA-J as the junior direct-drive class. In 2016, Original Kart (OK) regulations replaced KF in the direct-drive category, after perceived failures and restrictive regulations led to reduced entries at international competitions. OK-Junior (OK-J) also replaced KF-J as the junior class.
The CIK-FIA currently sanctions kart racing in eight categories: five direct-drive and three gearbox. Current direct-drive categories include Original Kart (OK), OK-Junior (OK-J), OK-N, OKN-Junior (OKN-J), and Mini. Current gearbox categories include KZ, KZ2, and KZ2-Masters. Former categories include KF1 (Formula A/Formula K), Super-ICC, and ICA.
The commission's first official president was Jean-Marie Balestre, who later became president of the FIA. He was replaced by Pierre Ugeux in 1964, who served until 1971 when Charles Defrancesco of Switzerland took office. Ernest Buser was president from 1978 until 1999, overseeing expansion to five continents and televised coverage via Eurosport. Yvon Léon served from 2000 to 2004. Vincent Caro then served as interim president, followed by Luigi Macaluso from October 2005 to October 2009, and Nicolas Deschaux until October 2010. Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa held the office until December 2017, before Felipe Massa took office in December 2017, becoming the first Formula One driver to hold the position, and was succeeded by Akbar Ebrahim in February 2022.
The major karting competitions sanctioned by the CIK-FIA include the World Championship and the European Championship, alongside several continental titles and the Academy Trophy for junior drivers, established in 2010. The International Karting Ranking (IKR) is a points system operated by the CIK-FIA that ranks all kart racers registered to national governing bodies recognised by the FIA.