André Michelin published the first edition of the guide to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring France. It included addresses of gasoline distributors, garages, tire stockists, and information on fuel prices, changing tires and repairing automobiles.

The guide was distributed for free from 1900 until 1920. The Michelin brothers began charging for the guides to establish more credibility after a pile of them were found propping up a garage workbench.[citation needed] The guide introduced the star in 1926 to note good cooking; two and three stars were added in the early 1930s. The cover of the guide was originally blue, but since 1931 has been red.

Widespread, the star system was developed and guides to other countries introduced. In 2010, eight Red Guides were published for the following European countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Italy, Spain & Portugal, Switzerland, and Great Britain & Ireland. Six other Red Guides, covering large cities, were added in 2010: Paris, London, Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka, Hong Kong & Macau, New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country. There is also a Red Guide covering the "Main Cities of Europe".

The first guides for cities outside of Europe were published in 2006 for New York and 2007 for San Francisco.

Guides for Tokyo, Los Angeles and Las Vegas were first released in November 2007. In guides released in November 2008, Tokyo was awarded a total of 227 stars; 9 restaurants were given three stars, 36 two stars, and 128 one star. This is more than three times New York City's total (56), and more than twice as many as Paris's total (96). (It should be noted, however, that Tokyo is home to 160,000 restaurants, versus New York City's 25,000 and Paris's 13,000.)

A guide for Kyoto and Osaka was published on 16 October 2009. Kyoto and Osaka were awarded a total of 106 and 79 stars respectively. In guides released in November 2009, Tokyo was awarded a total of 261 stars; 11 restaurants were given three stars, 42 two stars, and 144 one star.

In 2008, German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the editor-in-chief position of the French edition of the Guide. She is the first female and non-French national to take over at the French edition.

The Michelin Red Guide has historically had many more listings than its rivals, relying on an extensive system of symbols to describe each establishment in as little as two lines. Restaurants rated with a star also listed three specialities. Recently, however, very short summaries (2-3 lines) have been added for many establishments, for example 9,000 in France. These short summaries are written in the language of the country for which it is published, but the symbols are universal. The Red Guide uses anonymous inspections and does not charge for entries. Michelin claims to revisit establishments on average once every eighteen months in order to keep ratings up to date.

There is a Green Guide for each French region and many countries, regions, and cities outside France. Most Green Guides on France are available in several languages. They include background information and an alphabetical section describing points of interest. Like the Red Guide, they use a three-star system for recommending sights: three stars, "worth the trip"; two stars, "worth a detour"; one star, "interesting".

Michelin operates on the principle that only reviews by anonymous, professionally-trained experts can be trusted for accurate assessments of a restaurant's food and service (as opposed, for example, to Zagat, which relies on restaurant patrons for its reviews).