Miss France was first organized in 1920, under the name La plus belle femme de France (English: The most beautiful woman of France). The competition was founded by journalist Maurice de Waleffe, who chose to have the winner be decided by French filmgoers. After more than 1,700 women applied for the competition, 49 finalists were chosen. The competition was held over the course of several weeks, with filmgoers being given a ballot with seven women, and asked to select their favorite. Agnès Souret was selected as the inaugural winner. The following year, the competition was held again, with Pauline Pô winning the competition. However, La plus belle femme de France was later abandoned after 1921.

Six years later the competition was revived under the name Miss France, with a new format organized by Robert and Jean Cousin, Miss France continued to be held annually until 1940, when World War II disrupted entertainment events. The competition later resumed in 1947, following the end of the war, and has been held annually since then.

In 1954, Guy Lévy founded the Miss France Committee (French: comité Miss France) to organize the competition. Geneviève de Fontenay took over the Miss France Committee in 1981, until departing in 2007. Since then, Sylvie Tellier has served as the national director of Miss France. In a press release published on October 13, 2021, we learn that the Miss France company has just been created and that its presidency is vested in Alexia Laroche-Joubert, a well-known french producer. Sylvie Tellier retains her position as general manager until december 2023. 

The 2023 edition marked the first year that Cindy Fabre had overseen Miss France as its national director, taking over from Sylvie Tellier, whom had served in the position since 2007.

The 2024 edition marked the first time Sylvie Tellier has not served as a co-presenter of the show since joining the production for Miss France 2009, following her departure from Miss France at the conclusion of Miss France 2023, in addition to the first edition since the death of Geneviève de Fontenay, the president of the Miss France Committee from 1981 to 2007. The 2024 edition was also the final edition of Miss France under the leadership of president Alexia Laroche-Joubert, who departed following the conclusion of the pageant.

In 1986, the competition was aired live on TF1, becoming the first edition of Miss France to be broadcast live on national television.

Osez le féminisme, a French feminist organization, sued Miss France and its parent company, Endemol Production, in 2021 for sexist and discriminatory regulations. The lawsuit argues that the contestants in the pageant should be considered employees of the competition, thereby forbidding Miss France and Endemol from engaging in discrimination.