The Department was established in 1968 under the leadership of late Prof. S.S. Moosath and other eminent Professors like late C.P. Savariar, K.T. Rama Varma and G.M. Devasia with the objective of promoting post-graduate teaching and advanced research in chemistry. Today, it offers Master and Doctoral level programmes in a wide spectrum of disciplines falling under the broad areas of inorganic, organic and physical chemistry. The four-semester M.Sc. (Applied Chemistry) course is designed to provide a strong foundation in chemistry besides giving a sound exposure to advanced topics. The course consists of 12 core theory courses, four elective courses, four practical courses and a project. From 2003-04 academic year an integrated M.Phil-Ph.D programme is being offered.

As a part of its academic activities, the Department has launched a programme of continuing chemistry education to promote the cause of education in chemistry and to develop excellence among students and teachers of chemistry through lectures, discussions and debates. In collaboration with the Academic Staff College, the Department periodically conducts refresher courses, orientation courses, summer institutes and workshops for the benefit of college and university teachers.

The Department is actively involved in research and has completed several projects funded by external agencies such as DST, UGC, STEC and ICMR just to name a few. Over 200 research scholars have been awarded PhD degree so far. Teachers and research scholars of the department have published nearly 600 research papers in national and international journals. Many faculty members of the Department have been honoured for their academic achievements. In 1995 Dr. K.L Sebastian received the Bhatnagar Award in chemical sciences. In 1998 Prof. Geetha Parameswaran won the Dr. Vasudeva Award.
The Department library has a collection of over 7000 books. It has access  to a large number of national and international e-journals and databases