The circuit was designed by John Hugenholtz, the Dutch circuit designer also responsible for Suzuka and the revised Zandvoort. Located in the Belgian province of Limburg, the track's undulating character reflects the gentle topography of the Kempen region. From its opening in 1963 the circuit hosted European Touring Car Championship rounds and built a growing calendar of events before Formula One arrived for the first time in 1973.
Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix moved to Zolder in 1973. With the exception of two races held at Nivelles-Baulers in 1972 and 1974 — both won by Emerson Fittipaldi — Zolder was the home of the Belgian Grand Prix until 1982. The circuit's darkest moment came during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, when Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve was killed after his Ferrari 126C2 collided at speed with the March 821 of Jochen Mass. The Ferrari disintegrated in the impact and Villeneuve was thrown from the car.
Following Villeneuve's death, the Belgian Grand Prix was held at Spa-Francorchamps in 1983. It returned to Zolder one final time in 1984, won fittingly by Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto carrying Villeneuve's number 27 on his car. The Belgian Grand Prix has remained permanently at Spa since 1985.
Zolder has maintained a broad and varied racing calendar since losing Formula One. In 2007 the circuit hosted a round of the Champ Car World Series as well as a round of the FIA GT Championship. It served as venue for the World Series by Renault from 2003 to 2006, and replaced Zandvoort as host of the Masters of Formula 3 invitational in 2007 and 2008. The FIA WTCC Race of Belgium was held at Zolder in 2010, 2011, and 2020. The circuit also welcomed the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2002 and again from 2019 to 2021, before the DTM moved to Spa-Francorchamps in 2022.
The 24 Hours of Zolder, an endurance event held each year around late August or early September, provides the circuit with one of its highest-profile standalone weekends. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has used Zolder as the venue for its season finale since 2015.
Beyond motorsport, Zolder has hosted major cycling events. The UCI Road World Championships were held at the circuit in 1969 and 2002, and the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships took place there in 1970, 2002, and 2016. The 2016 cyclo-cross edition became notable for the first confirmed case of mechanical doping in competitive cycling, when Femke Van den Driessche was found to have a concealed motor inside her bicycle. Zolder has hosted a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round each December since 2009, and staged the UCI BMX World Championships in 2015 and 2019.
Following safety modifications carried out in early 2006, the track measures 4.011 km. The unofficial all-time outright lap record is 1:12.821, set by Sébastien Bourdais in a Panoz DP01 Champ Car during qualifying for the 2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix. Noise limits at the circuit are set at 96 dB(A), measured at two points along the circuit — just after Turn 4 (Bianchi) and between Turns 7 and 8 — though these limits are lifted for international test days and most race weekends.
Zolder's current annual calendar includes the Belcar New Race Festival and Porsche Sprint Challenge Benelux in May, the Belcar 24 Hours of Zolder and Historic Grand Prix Zolder in August, the FIA European Truck Racing Championship Belgian Truck Grand Prix in September, and the NASCAR GP Belgium EuroNASCAR Finals alongside Belcar and Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux in October.