Liu Chuanzhi, along with a group of ten experienced engineers, officially founded Lenovo in Beijing on November 1, 1984, with 200,000 yuan.

In 1985, Lenovo began selling its first computer, the ThinkPad, which became extremely popular and contributed to Lenovo's success in the computer industry.

In May 1988, Lenovo placed its first recruitment advertisement on the front page of the China Youth News, a rare occurrence in China at the time. This event marked the company's efforts in talent acquisition and expansion.

In 1990, Lenovo started to manufacture and market computers using its own brand name.

In 1994, Lenovo became a publicly traded company in Hong Kong S.A.R of China.

In 1995, Lenovo became a publicly traded company, raising $400 million. By 1999, its sales exceeded $2 billion, and it acquired IBM's PC division.

In 1996, the company launched its first branded PC, marking a significant milestone in the history of personal computing.

Lenovo released its Tianxi (天禧) computer in 1998, designed to make it easy for inexperienced Chinese consumers to use computers and access the internet. It was the best-selling computer in Chinese history as of 2000, selling more than 1,000,000 units in 2000 alone.

By 1999, the company had achieved the position of being the number one player in the Asia-Pacific region, solidifying its presence and influence in the market.

To fund its continued growth, Lenovo issued a secondary offering of 50 million shares on the Hong Kong market in March 2000 and raised about US$212 million.

It rebranded to the name Lenovo in 2003 and began making acquisitions to expand the company.

Lenovo acquired IBM’s famed Personal Computer Division (PCD) in a $1.25 billion deal in 2005, marking the starting shot for the company’s radical transformation from a local Chinese to a truly global corporation.

In early 2006, the U.S. State Department faced criticism for buying 16,000 computers from Lenovo due to concerns about potential espionage. This incident led to public defense of Lenovo's independence by its CEO, Yang Yuanqing.

Lenovo evolved from solely selling PCs to becoming the world’s third largest tablet maker in 2007, showcasing its diversification and innovation in the technology industry.

The first IdeaCentre desktop, the IdeaCentre K210, was announced by Lenovo on 30 June 2008. The IdeaCentre line consists only of desktops and shares design elements and features with the IdeaPad line.

After a meeting in 2009, CEO Yang Yuanqing and the head of Lenovo's supply chain decided to make at least 50% of Lenovo's manufacturing in-house, leading to an emphasis on vertical integration.

Lenovo is a model of a modern, truly global company with shared international and Chinese roots, diverse executive representation, and global investments, highlighting its global influence and operations.

On January 27, 2011, Lenovo formed a joint venture with NEC to establish a new company called Lenovo NEC Holdings, aiming to boost Lenovo's worldwide sales by expanding its presence in Japan. Lenovo was to own a 51% stake in the joint venture, while NEC would have 49%. The joint venture was also intended to explore cooperation in areas such as servers and tablet computers.

In November 2011, Lenovo announced the upcoming release of a Smart TV product called LeTV, expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2012. This marked Lenovo's entry into the smart television market, aiming to provide an integrated experience of hardware, software, and cloud services.

In May 2012, Lenovo announced an investment of US$793 million in the construction of a mobile phone manufacturing and R&D facility in Wuhan, Hubei.

In September 2012, Lenovo agreed to acquire the Brazil-based electronics company Digibras, which sells products under the brand-name CCE, aiming to maximize regional growth and take advantage of increased sales due to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics hosted by Brazil.

In October 2012, Lenovo announced the start of assembling computers in Whitsett, North Carolina, with production beginning in January 2013. This move also included the production of the ThinkPad Helix.

In February 2013, Lenovo opened a 700-square-metre global flagship in Beijing, showcasing its commitment to providing a prominent and immersive brand experience. This flagship store aimed to strengthen Lenovo's presence and engagement with customers in the Chinese market.

In March 2013, Lenovo was added to the Hang Seng Index, replacing the unprofitable Aluminum Corporation of China Limited. This inclusion significantly increased the weight of the technology sector on the index, providing a significant boost for Lenovo and its shareholders.

In June 2013, Lenovo revealed a collaboration with Sharp to produce smart televisions. This strategic partnership aimed to enhance Lenovo's position in the smart TV market by leveraging Sharp's expertise and technology.

As of July 2013, Lenovo believes that urbanization initiatives being pushed by former Premier Li Keqiang will allow it to sustain sales growth in China for the foreseeable future. Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's CEO, emphasized the opportunity presented by China's relatively low penetration rate of personal computers.

In November 2013, Lenovo reported achieving double-digit market share in the United States for the first time, marking a significant milestone in its global expansion.

On January 29, 2014, Google announced the sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for US$2.91 billion. The deal included smartphone lines like the Moto X, Moto G, Droid Turbo, and the future Motorola Mobility product roadmap.

On October 1, 2014, Lenovo completed the acquisition of IBM's x86-based server division for a final price of $2.1 billion. The acquisition aimed to gain access to more enterprise customers, improve profit margins, and develop a closer relationship with Intel.

The acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Lenovo was completed on October 30, 2014.

In May 2015, Lenovo hosted its first ever 'Tech World' conference in Beijing. ZUK Mobile, a separate company formed by Lenovo in 2014, announced several products at Tech World, including slim power banks, 3D printers that can print food such as chocolate, an outdoor sound box, and a Wi-Fi based control system for home automation.

From October 2014 through June 2015, Lenovo's UEFI firmware on certain models contained software known as 'Lenovo Service Engine', which automatically sent non-identifiable system information to Lenovo and automatically installed the Lenovo OneKey Optimizer program. This led to security vulnerabilities and was discontinued after not complying with revised guidelines.

In February 2015, Lenovo faced controversy for bundling software known as Superfish Visual Discovery on some of its laptops, which was identified as malware. This led to a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission in 2017 and an apology to customers and stockholders.

Lenovo confirmed that their Yoga series is not meant to be compatible with Linux operating systems and that it is not supported. Lenovo has since released an alternative firmware that has restored the AHCI mode to the drive controller to allow installation of Linux operating systems.

Lenovo's Data Center Group relaunched the ThinkServer product line as ThinkSystem, which consisted of 17 new machine type models, in the catalog format containing form factors such as Tower, 1U/2U, Blades, Dense and 4U Mission Critical Intel-based servers. The relaunch also contained a portfolio of Storage Arrays and of Fibre Channel SAN Switches and Directors. Lenovo struck an agreement with AMD to supply customers with a choice of options between both Intel and AMD powered appliances.

Lenovo acquired IBM PCD, marking a significant milestone in its expansion and transformation into a global corporation.

In September 2018, Lenovo and NetApp announced a strategic partnership and joint venture in China, introducing two new lines of storage systems: DM-Series and DE-Series.

The first two ThinkSystem platforms were introduced to the market containing a single AMD EPYC processor, the SR635 (1U) and the SR655 (2U). This exemplified Lenovo's approach to being the Most Trusted Data Center Advisor in the market.

Lenovo DCG further expanded its AMD offerings to incorporate 2-proc systems, the SR645 and the SR665, continuing to exemplify its approach to being the Most Trusted Data Center Advisor in the market.

In August 2020, The Intercept reported that Lenovo imported laptops from a company accused of using Uyghur forced labor. Lenovo took some shipments out of distribution and informed its customers of the change.

In the third quarter of 2020, Lenovo held a leading market share of 25.7% of all PCs sold worldwide, signifying its dominance in the global PC market.

On 12 January 2021, Lenovo filed an application to issue Chinese depositary receipts, representing newly issued ordinary shares, and to list them on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

On 8 October 2021, Lenovo withdrew its application to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange just days after it had been accepted by the exchange, citing the possibility of the validity of financial information in its prospectus lapsing as the reason. The price of the company's shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange dropped by over 17% following the news, which was its biggest intraday decline in over a decade.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lenovo reportedly suspended shipping to Russia on or before February 25, 2022, and faced a domestic backlash from Internet users in China.