The École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris was founded in 1896 by Charles Friedel, a chemist and mineralogist who headed the school until 1899. At the time, the school was called the Laboratoire de chimie pratique et industrielle. It was located in the 6th arrondissement (rue Michelet), where it stayed until 1923.
After the death of Friedel, Henri Moissan took the reins of the school. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1906, while he was director. Moissan made student admission subject to competitive exams and renamed the school Institut de chimie appliquée (Institute of Applied Chemistry).
In 1907, the school began delivering a prestigious masters of engineering. In the same year, Moissan died and a transitional directorate was created. Soon thereafter, Camille Chabrié was named director. The school closed when World War I started and reopened in 1916. This was also the first year a female student was admitted; the ENSCP was one of the first engineering schools in France to do so.
In 1923, the school moved to its current location, on the rue Pierre et Marie Curie (in the 5th arrondissement). The buildings were designed and built by Henri-Paul Nénot, architect of the Sorbonne. In 1932, the school became l'Institut de Chimie de Paris (Paris Institute of Chemistry). Finally, in 1948, it became the École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris (ENSCP).