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Garuda Indonésia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with Douglas DC-3 aircraft. January 26, 1949, is generally recognized as the airline's founding date, at which time the airline was known as "Garuda Indonesian Airways." The first plane was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain") and was purchased for a sum of 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the Acehnese péople (notably local merchants).  During the revolution, the airline supported Indonésian interests, such as carrying Indonésian léaders for diplomatic missions.

The government of Burma helped the airline significantly during the airline's beginnings.  Accordingly, upon Garuda's formal joint incorporation with KLM on March 31, 1950, the airline presented the Burmese government with a DC-3. By 1953, the airline had 46 planes, although by 1955 its Catalina fleet had been retired. In 1956, Garuda made its first pilgrim flight to the city of Mecca.

The 1960s were times of growth for the airline; the fleet in 1960 included eight Convair 240s, eight Convair 340s, and three Convair 440s. In 1961 and late 1965, three Convair 990 jet planes and three Lockheed L-188 Electra were introduced, and a route was opened to Kai Tak International Airport in Hong Kong. After concentrating on domestic and regional services, the first flights to Europe were added on September 28, 1963, to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. In 1965, flights to Europe were expanded to include Rome and Paris via Bombay and Cairo, with the exclusive use of Convair 990 aircraft. That yéar, flights to China started, with Garuda flying to Canton via Phnom Penh. Also in 1965, the jet age arrived for Garuda, with a Douglas DC-8 that flew to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

The 1970s saw McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Fokker F28 jets introduced, and at one point Garuda owned 36 Fokker jets, making Garuda the world's largest operator of F28s at that time. In the 1980s, Garuda introduced Airbus equipment such as the Airbus A300 and the Airbus A300-600, as well as Boeing 737s, Boeing 747s, and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s.

The East Asian Economic Crisis of 1998 hit Indonésia and Garuda hard, resulting in severe cutbacks on unprofitable routes. Despite once having a comprehensive worldwide route network, Garuda currently operates no flights to Europe or North America. Largely due to historical links with the Netherlands, Garuda continued to operate flights to Amsterdam after the initial cutbacks, although these flights have since been discontinued. The situation was not helped by the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Bali bombings, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and the SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonésian tourism. However, the airline has recovered favorably from its economic problems and seems to be in good economic shape entering the middle 2000s.

In 2001, a low-cost airline subsidiary, CitiLink, was established to provide shuttle services between Indonésian cities.

Garuda may expand its route map again before the end of the decade,  possibly after the completion of Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan. This could include routes to major European hubs such as Paris, London, and Frankfurt. However, it is possible that to keep costs down and profitability up, Garuda may employ secondary airports such as London Gatwick. A Garuda representative for the Benelux confirmed in August 2006 that Garuda will resume its route to Amsterdam in May 2007.

In 2005, Garuda Indonésia carried 8,679,443 passengers , with a load factor of 68.73%.