This Department was established in 1967. At inception, the Department ran a National Certificate of Education (NCE) and later a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Physical Education. The first set of graduates from the Department graduated in 1980, at which time the Department produced the first 1^st Class graduate of the Faculty of Education, and another 1^st Class graduate in 2014.

Since then, the Department has been using the Diploma programme as its nursery ground to fill admissions into the Department. Some of the major emphases have been sports development, coaching, research, and pedagogy. At its inception, the programme stipulated a merit pass as a requirement for admission into the degree programme, which has been approved by Senate since 1985. This was considered when admitting students from Colleges of Education.

In the 1990/1991 academic session, the Department was accredited to run a degree programme in Physical Education. The programme was extended to Physical and Health Education at the undergraduate level. The Department offers Exercise Physiology, Sports and Exercise Psychology, Health Education, and Sports Administration and Management at the postgraduate level. The Department has produced students in these areas up to Ph.D. level in the stated specialisations.

In 2002/2003, the Senate of the University of Lagos approved the change of name to the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, in line with modern nomenclature and the scientific approach to human movement, sport, and health promotion. Full accreditation was granted to the Department in 2005/2006 to run two degrees:

1. Human Kinetics
2. Health Education

The Department has produced some outstanding students who are now teaching in Lagos State public schools, private schools, sports councils, the National Sports Commission, and the National Institute for Sports. Since the inception of the Faculty in 1967, the Faculty operated as a division of the College of Education, P.E. School of Science, and was headed by Mr. A. Omo-Osagie from 1967 to 1969. Since it was a College of Education, the Department graduated NCE holders in the unit. Mr. J. C. Omoruwan was the Acting Head of Department from 1969 to 1973, and late Mr. A. A. Adebayo became the Acting Head of Department from 1973 to 1974. Dr. J. C. Omoruwan served from 1976 to 1977, and Dr. Eric Pearson from 1977 to 1979. Within this period, the Department offered the Bachelor of Science Education degree (B.Sc. Ed.) in Physical and Health Education, while students registered for some courses in Education.

From 1979 to 1982, Dr. J. C. Omoruan was re-appointed as the Acting Head of Department. During this period, the Department started offering a Master’s degree programme. Dr. A. A. Adebayo was appointed Acting Head of Department between 1982 and 1984 and continued with the departmental programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Emphasis was placed on the following areas: Test and Measurement, Movement Education, and Sports and Exercise Physiology. From 1984 to 1987, Dr. (Mrs.) S. B. Ajasin was the Acting Head of Department. The Department then started offering Health Education as a degree programme. Dr. A. F. A. Folawiyo was employed as an expert in Health Education. The departmental headship was rotated among the senior lecturers in the Department for a period of two years.

In 1999, three professors were appointed for the first time in the history of the Department. They were Prof. (Mrs.) P. B. Ikulayo (Late), Prof. A. O. Ajidua (Late), and Prof. A. F. A. Folawiyo (Late). During this period, the Department introduced a doctoral programme in Sports Administration and Management. Prof. (Mrs.) P. B. Ikulayo was the longest-serving Head of Department. She served for almost seven years, from August 2004 to February 2010, during which many innovations were introduced into the Department, e.g., the High Performance and Research Laboratory. In February 2010, Prof. P. B. Ikulayo was appointed the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Education after the demise of the Dean, Prof. O. O. Busari, in February 2010. Dr. G. O. Otinwa served as Acting HOD from February 2010 to July 2012. Dr. A. R. Awopetu was appointed Acting Head of Department from August 2012 to 2013. Upon the appointment of Prof. G. O. Otinwa as a professor, she became the Head of Department from 2013 to 2016. Dr. E. A. Haastrup was appointed as Acting Head of Department from August 2016 to 2018. Prof. A. R. Awopetu was appointed as Head of Department from 2018 to 2021, and Dr. F. M. Adeyeye, who later became a professor, took over as Acting Head in August 2021 and became the substantive Head in 2023.

There are fifteen academic staff and four non-teaching staff in the Department. The Department has been able to produce doctoral candidates who are currently serving as lecturers in the Department. Some are also in other universities in Nigeria, among whom are Prof. F. M. Adeyeye, who is currently the HOD; Prof. R. O. Okuneye of Lagos State University, Ojo; Prof. J. O. Vipene; Prof. Amasiatu; Prof. A. R. Awopetu; Prof. Okonkwo; Prof. C. M. Adewumi; Dr. A. A. Agoro; Dr. G. S. Ajibola; Dr. V. D. Ademola, Dr. M. O. Owolewa, Dr. A. F. Jaiyeoba and a host of others. The Department has produced outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen who regularly represent the country in both national and international competitions, e.g., Chioma Ajunwa (Olympic Gold Medalist) Ahmed Adio (NTA Sports, Abuja), Funke Oshonaike (based in Spain), and a host of others at the National Sports Commission.

The academic staff of the Department are not only engaged in the teaching of the programmes enumerated above; the Department also engages in research, individual and joint work, which has culminated in journal publications as cited on the University of Lagos repository (www.unilag.edu.ng). The second dimension of publication is in the form of books and module writing

The Department has to its credit the underlisted joint books and international journal.

1. International Journal of Research and Contemporary Issues in Sports (2006)
2. Understanding Sports and Exercise Psychology (2007)
3. Safety Education (2004).
4. Contemporary Issues in Human Kinetics, Fitness and Health (2017)
5. Theory and Practice of Recreation (2009)
6. Fundamentals of recreation (2012)
7. The Rudiments of Cricket Game (2012)
8. Distance Learning Institute Module on Safety Education (2014)