In 1956, the museum was renamed Saigon National Museum, and finally in 1975, after some renovations, the museum was expanded and became the Ho Chi Minh City Historical Museum.

Through the different exhibits that can be seen, the museum portrays Vietnam?s history from ancient times (approximately 300,000 years ago) up to the 1930s, when Vietnam?s Communist Party was founded.

The museum?s exhibits are divided according to the following topics: Primitive Age -Rise of the Hung Kings - Fight for Independence (1st-10th centuries) - Ly Dynasty (11th-13th centuries) -Tran Dynasty (13th-14th centuries) - Le Dynasty (15th-18th centuries) - Tay Son Dynasty (18th-19th centuries) -Nguyen Dynasty (19th-middle of the 20th centuries) - A second part of the museum displays specific characteristics of the Southern area of Vietnam such as the Oc-Eo culture, the ancient culture of the Mekong Delta, Cham art, the Ben Nghe Saigon art, the Vietnamese ethnic minorities, and ancient pottery of various Asian countries.