Salar Jung Museum is the repository of the artistic creations of diverse European, Asian and Far Eastern countries for the world. The collection was given the shape of a museum and declared open to the public on the 16th December 1951, just two years after the demise of Salar Jung – III, Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan. By virtue of a compromise deed between the descendants of the late Nawab and the Government of India the Museum came to be administered by the Govt. of India, and in 1961, the Museum together with its Library was declared an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament and the Government of India transferred the administration of the Museum and its library to a Board of Trustees with the Governor of Andhra Pradesh as its Chairman.

The collection of the museum can broadly be divided into Indian Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art and European Art. There is a children’s section which caters to the interests of the children. Apart from this, a gallery is devoted to the illustrious Salar Jung family for introducing the visitors to the life and times of the Salar Jungs.