Odesa Zoo was founded in 1922. Its founder, Henre Beizert, made a lot of efforts to create a zoological park in Odesa. At that time, the zoo was located in the Lower garden of the Vorontsov Palace, near the seaport. Before the revolution, it was one of the most beautiful places in Odessa. The first collection included about two dozen species of animals.

At its current location, at the address of Novoschipny Ryad street, 25, the zoo was organized in 1937.

During the occupation of Odesa (October 1941-April 1944) during the Second World War, the zoo was closed for conservation. It was not possible to evacuate the animals. To feed the animals of the zoo, Henry Beizert opened a sewing workshop, the profits from which went to the purchase of animal feed. Two days after the liberation of Odesa from the fascist invaders, on April 12, 1944, the zoo has reopend. The collection contained 500 exhibits at that time: 30 species of mammals, 21 species of birds and 1 species of reptiles.

In 1983, the Odesa Zoo acquired the status of an object of the nature reserve fund of Ukraine of state importance.

In 1987, the Aquaterrarium of the zoo was opened. Starting from the end of the 80s and in the 90s, a complete reconstruction of the central entrance to the zoo was carried out, the green area was organized, and a new administrative building was built. The reconstruction of the waterfowl exposition was carried out, the reconstruction of the elephant house, the summer enclosures of ungulates was completed, and the vivarium was built.

In 2007-2009, the “Rural yard”, “House of Pelicans”, aviaries for cranes appeared.

In 2013, the Odesa City Council approved the Development and Reconstruction Program of the Odesa Zoo “Zoopark-100”. As part of this program, from 2012 to 2017, European wolves, Amur tigers, and brown bears received new enclosures. The vivarium of the zoo has been transferred to a new premises. In 2020, a new entrance group was built from the side of the Preobrazhensky park, which became the Central entrance to the zoo.

The zoo’s specialization: “Maintenance, breeding and reintroduction into nature of rare and endangered animals of the South of Ukraine.”

As of January 1, 2022, the zoo’s collection includes 231 species of animals (1,754 specimens). Of them, 23 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, 29 species are listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the zoos of Ukraine, Odesa Zoo has the largest collection of birds of prey. Most of them are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

According to the specialization, the “Eagle-owl” program has been working in the zoo for several years. Its goal is to create a stable population of this once numerous predator in the South of Ukraine. From 2010 to 2021, more than 20 birds born in the Odessa Zoo were released into the wild. The birds were released in the territories of the Lower Dniester National Nature Park and the Danube Biosphere Reserve. Several birds were tagged with trackers that allowed tracking their movements.

Odesa Zoo is the only one in Ukraine where Asian elephants, a rare species listed in the IUCN Red Book, have been successfully bred.

In 2020, the breeding center for birds of prey and owls of the zoo received a scion of a eastern imperial eagle (IUCN Red Book (VU), Red Book of Ukraine), a rare case of breeding of the species in captivity.