The circuit's origins lie in an act of industrial reuse: its early sections followed service roads and a disused mineral railway that had served Lethans Colliery before closure in 1951. The site opened in September 1974, and the first car race was held on 18 May 1975. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s the circuit passed through several owners, each adding incrementally to its facilities. Derek Butcher became owner in 1984 and oversaw a sustained period of development that brought Knockhill to a standard capable of hosting rounds of most major British car and motorcycle championships.
The circuit hosted rounds of the British Touring Car Championship for twelve years before the deal lapsed in 2002, when promoters sought infrastructure upgrades. Knockhill made the required improvements and the BTCC returned in 2004, with ITV broadcasting the event live. The British Formula Three Championship and British GT Championship also returned in May 2005, cementing Knockhill's position as the primary venue for national-level motorsport in Scotland.
The National layout's ten corners pack a range of challenges into a short lap. From the start line — which sits at a different point along the pit straight from the finish line — drivers immediately crest the circuit's highest point before descending steeply to Duffus Dip, a fast, blind, downhill right-hand corner widely regarded as one of the most demanding in the United Kingdom. At the base of the descent sits Leslie's, a quick left-hander, followed immediately by a braking challenge at McIntyre's, a ninety-degree right-hand bend where cars may still be unsettled from levelling out through Leslie's.
Butcher's, a shallow right-hand curve, leads the track downward to its lowest point before rising steeply to the Chicane, where the second — entirely blind — right-hand segment catches drivers who cannot see the apex until committed. Sausage kerbs on the inside deter cutting, and cars frequently ride two wheels or briefly leave the ground entirely. Clark's follows: a blind, uphill right-hander where vehicles regularly find the outside gravel. Hislop's, previously named Railway in reference to the old mineral line beneath the circuit, is a left-hand kink taken at relatively high speed on the fastest section of the lap.
Taylor's hairpin concludes the circuit before the uphill pit straight. One of the tightest hairpins in the United Kingdom, with an uphill apex, it is the circuit's primary overtaking point, with the long Railway straight enabling slipstreaming into its heavy braking zone.
The circuit measures 10 metres wide throughout all layouts and carries a total elevation change of 37 metres, which amplifies every braking and acceleration event. As of 2025 Knockhill holds an FIA Grade 3 licence.
In 2008 Knockhill named the left-hand kink previously known as Railway as Leslie's Bend, honouring Scottish racing driver David Leslie shortly after his death in a jet-aircraft accident at Farnborough.
In 2012 Knockhill became the first racing circuit in the United Kingdom in modern times to receive a licence for competition in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, reviving races run the reverse way around the track. The anti-clockwise direction had been used in earlier years but lapsed; reinstatement required separate licensing for both cars and motorcycles.
Beyond the main 1.300-mile International and 1.000-mile National road circuits, Knockhill operates a 500-metre karting circuit east of the main paddock, a concrete rally stage south of Taylor's hairpin, a skid pan, and an off-road course in the infield that was re-profiled in 2019 for rallycross use. On-site parking accommodates 3,000 cars. A year-round events calendar centres on rounds of the British Touring Car Championship and British Superbike Championship, supplemented by Scottish Motor Racing Club meetings, Super Lap Scotland events, and the Scottish Formula Ford Championship.
The circuit has appeared in several motorsport video games including Project CARS 2, Colin McRae: Dirt, and titles in the TOCA series, and has featured on the British television programmes Top Gear and The Grand Tour.