The institution was founded in 1956 as Gardanibagh College. It was located then at Patna High School and operated as an evening school to further the education of employees. It was subsequently renamed as Anugrah Narayan College in honour of Bihar Vibhuti Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar, In 1959 the college moved to a rented building in Anisabad.

The college moved to its present site when the Patna Improvement Trust provided it with 19 acres (77,000 m²) of land, following the intervention of Dr. Sinha.