The Sakarya region, which includes Serdivan, has been occupied by Frigs, Bithynians, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians, Romanians and Byzantines over the centuries due to the rich soil, forests,rivers, lakes and its place on important trade routes.

In the Byzantine period, there is no evidence of settlement in the Adapazarı basin. The region was settled by Turks in the first half of the 1300s after the conquest of the region by the Ottoman Empire.Records show that Serdivan was settled later than Adapazarı. The first major settlement was established by Greeks in the 17th century.

It is believed that Serdivan was first known as ‘Petrades’. Over time, the name ‘Sardovan’ was used and eventually became ‘Serdivan’. The expansion of the settlement in Serdivan relates to the population exchange experienced within the framework of the Lausanne Treaty. In the period of the treaty, the Greek population in Serdivan left and the  Muslim population arrived. The newcomers settled in a new area( today’s Serdivan) instead of the areas the Greeks had evacuated.

In 1923 Serdivan consisted of 400 houses and had a settlement plan which consisted of 3 main roads and streets bounded to these roads. Also, the aim was for both facades of a house to  overlook the road, therefore maintaining privacy. However after a short time migration started in the Aegean region because of problems such as epidemic and as a result, the population decreased by ⅔’s.Much of the settlement during this period was indescriminate and unplanned.

Serdivans population continued to expand over the following years due to immigration from Albania in 1928, from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia in 1934-1951 and from the Black Sea region in 1948. Serdivan ,which had village status, set up a municipal organisation on 2th February 1956. Serdivan achieved the status of a state after legislation was passed on 6th March 2008.With the addition of Kazımpaşa, Yazlık and Beşköprü city halls the scope of the authority of Serdivan city hall increased.  Serdivan carries on its duty as a state within the  Sakarya metropolitan municipality.

Also, the University of Sakarya campus, which was set up in 1992, is situated within the boundaries of Serdivan.