Ponce de Leon may have landed near Melbourne Beach where he was the first European to set foot in Florida in 1513 (rather than at St. Augustine, as he is usually said to have).

Melbourne Beach is "Brevard's Oldest Beach Community," established in 1883 by a retired Union general. Pineapples were grown there until 1895, when freezing weather wiped out crops and ended commercial farming there.

In 1921, the Melbourne Causeway was built, connecting Melbourne beach to the mainland via the town of Indialantic. Only in 1923 was it officially incorporated as a town.

The town's population oscillated until World War II, when it began growing steadily. Currently, it is largely residential, with an elementary school, some businesses, and many condominums in the unincorporated areas to the north and south.