The championship succeeded the FIM Formula TT, which ran from 1977 to 1989. Having proven commercially viable, the Formula TT was wound up at the end of 1990 and WorldSBK took over as the premier FIM production-based series. Each round originally featured two full-length races; from 2019 a ten-lap Superpole sprint race was added, giving each weekend three races whose combined results determine the championships.
Machines competing in the series are tuned production motorcycles, though in earlier years manufacturers produced low-volume "homologation specials" to exploit loopholes in the rules. From 2004, a Pirelli control tyre was mandated, a controversial decision that triggered objections from rival tyre makers and temporarily reduced Japanese manufacturer participation.
For the first few seasons Honda won using the RC30, but the 1,000 cc V-twin engine — particularly as exploited by Ducati — gradually gained the upper hand. Carl Fogarty and Ducati dominated from 1993 to 1999, with Fogarty winning four championships and accumulating 59 race victories, a record that stood for years. Troy Corser also won the 1996 title on a Ducati. In 2000 Honda countered with its VTR1000 SPW V-twin and Colin Edwards won the championship immediately; Ducati regained the title in 2001 with Troy Bayliss, and Edwards won again in 2002 in what is regarded as one of the most dramatic championship reversals in motorcycle racing. After Bayliss won the first 14 races of 2002 and held a 58-point lead, Edwards won all nine remaining rounds to take the title at the final race at Imola — a contest remembered as the "Showdown at Imola."
In 2003 the FIM opened the rules to 1,000 cc machines of all cylinder configurations. Japanese manufacturers, their resources redirected toward MotoGP's new four-stroke formula, reduced factory involvement, and the field was dominated by Ducati to such an extent that the series was derisively nicknamed "the Ducati Cup." Neil Hodgson won the 2003 title on a factory Ducati. The introduction of Pirelli control tyres in 2004 reduced the competitive advantage of individual tyre programmes, but James Toseland and Ducati still won. Japanese manufacturers returned more seriously from 2005 through European importer teams: Troy Corser gave Suzuki its first Superbike World Championship title that year. Troy Bayliss returned from MotoGP to dominate 2006 and 2008 on Ducati machinery; Toseland won 2007 in the season's final race by two points over Noriyuki Haga.
From 2015 onwards, Jonathan Rea became the defining figure of the championship, winning six consecutive titles for Kawasaki between 2015 and 2020. His points total and race-win count surpassed Fogarty's records, and his fifth consecutive title in 2019 cemented his status as the most successful rider in the championship's history. The 2017 season was marked by the death of Nicky Hayden, a former MotoGP World Champion who had moved to WorldSBK, after injuries sustained in a cycling accident near Rimini.
Toprak Razgatlioglu broke Rea's run by winning the 2021 title on a Yamaha. Álvaro Bautista then won back-to-back championships for Ducati in 2022 and 2023, with Ducati reaching 400 victories in the series during April 2023. Razgatlioglu, having moved to BMW, won the 2024 and 2025 titles; at the end of 2025 he stood second only to Rea in all-time race victories with 78 wins, before departing for MotoGP with Yamaha for 2026. Rea simultaneously announced his retirement at the end of 2025.
Many WorldSBK champions have moved to MotoGP — including Edwards, Toseland, and 2005 runner-up Chris Vermeulen — while the series has also attracted former MotoGP riders seeking competitive machinery. The championship's support classes include the Supersport World Championship (running since 1990), the FIM Superstock 1,000 Cup (for European rounds), and the European Superstock 600 Championship.
The WorldSBK licence was held by EA Sports through 2001, after which the Italian developer Milestone became the series' game publisher. Milestone released multiple SBK titles between 2007 and 2012 in partnership with Black Bean Games, covering the championships across that period under the SBK brand.