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Tetiaroa forms part of the Society Islands, whose history was shaped by Polynesian navigation, settlement and close knowledge of ocean currents, reefs, birds and seasonal resources. The atoll's motu and lagoon supported fishing, gathering and temporary residence, while its isolation gave it a character distinct from the larger volcanic islands of Tahiti and Moorea. As elsewhere in the region, oral traditions, kinship and relationships with chiefly communities carried historical knowledge across generations. The physical landscape visible today—reef, lagoon, beach and coconut-covered islets—was therefore not an empty wilderness but an environment understood and used by Polynesian communities.

Before European influence transformed the Society Islands, Tetiaroa was associated with Tahitian chiefly and royal families. Its distance from Tahiti made it suitable as a retreat, while its lagoon and surrounding waters offered access to fish and other marine resources. Accounts of the atoll's royal associations are part of the wider history of Tahitian chiefly power and the movement between the main island and its satellite islets. Tetiaroa's significance consequently rests not only on its scenery but also on its place within the social and political geography of pre-colonial Tahiti.

European contact brought missionaries, new political structures, commercial interests and epidemic disease to the Society Islands from the late eighteenth century onwards. Tahiti became a centre of the emerging Kingdom of Tahiti before French annexation in the nineteenth century, and Tetiaroa was drawn into these wider changes through its connections with Tahitian royal and landholding networks. The atoll did not develop into a colonial town or administrative centre; its importance remained tied to resources, retreat and land ownership. This helps explain why Tetiaroa retains a markedly undeveloped character compared with Tahiti.

Tetiaroa acquired a new international association in the twentieth century when Marlon Brando visited French Polynesia during the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty, released in 1962. He subsequently obtained rights connected with the atoll and became closely associated with its future. Brando's interest extended beyond its cinematic appeal: he supported ideas for low-impact development and environmental protection, concerns that later influenced the shape of tourism on Tetiaroa. The atoll's film connection is significant, but it forms one modern chapter in a much longer Polynesian history.

In the early twenty-first century, conservation became central to Tetiaroa's public identity. The Tetiaroa Society was established to support research, environmental education and protection of the atoll's marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The Brando, a private resort on Onetahi, opened in 2014 and was presented as a model for environmentally conscious island hospitality, incorporating renewable-energy and resource-management initiatives alongside scientific work. Tetiaroa's recent history is therefore defined by an attempt to reconcile restricted tourism with the protection of a fragile lagoon, reef and motu environment.