The founding legislation of the Higher Agricultural School of Athens (Law 1844/1920) established two principal academic chairs: the Chair of General and Special Animal Husbandry & Dairying, held by Professor Ioannis Dimakopoulos (1921–1965), and the Chair of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Hygiene, and Elements of Veterinary Medicine, held by Professor Christos Pasiokas (1921–1958). In accordance with the academic standards of the time, influenced by French and German models, these chairs encompassed both teaching and research in areas such as Mendelian Genetics, Dairying, Animal Nutrition, and the Anatomy and Physiology of animals.

Beginning in 1949, academic studies at the Higher Agricultural School of Athens were divided into “Specializations,” a development which led to the establishment of the Department of Animal Husbandry. The evolving academic and scientific landscape—marked by increased access to international literature, the rise of systematic poultry farming, and the expansion of the compound feed industry—necessitated significant reforms in teaching and research, prompting a further differentiation of subject areas within the Department. In 1960, the merging of the Chair of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Hygiene and Elements of Veterinary Medicine, with the Chair of Microbiology resulted in the establishment of a unified Chair of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, led by Professor K. Melanidis (1958–1965).

Subsequently, in 1964, the topic of Nutrition was separated from Animal Husbandry, leading to the creation of an independent Chair and Laboratory of Animal Nutrition under the leadership of Professor P. Kalaisakis (1964–1986). In 1977, the Department expanded its academic and research focus to include aquaculture, with the founding of the Laboratory of Applied Hydrobiology by Professor Sofronios E. Papoutsoglou. The Department’s continued growth and development were supported by its relocation in 1980 to the newly constructed “I. DIMAKOPOULOS” building.

In 1982, the Department was renamed to Department of Animal Production. In 2012, it became the Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, one of the three core departments—alongside the Department of Crop Science and the Department of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering—within the School of Agricultural Production, Infrastructure, and Environment.

Since 2019, the Department has been known as the Department of Animal Science. Together with the newly established Department of Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, it now forms the School of Animal Biosciences, one of six Schools at the Agricultural University of Athens. The Department comprises four Laboratories: Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Animal Breeding & Husbandry, Applied Hydrobiology, and Nutritional Physiology & Feeding.