JEF United Chiba traces its roots to 1946, when Furukawa Electric founded a company football team in what is now Chiba Prefecture. That side became one of the founding eight clubs of the Japan Soccer League in 1965 and distinguished itself as the only Japanese club never relegated from the JSL's top division throughout the league's entire existence. During the JSL era the club won the national league twice, the Emperor's Cup four times, the JSL Cup three times, and in 1986–87 became the first Japanese club to win the Asian Club Championship.
Following a merger with JR East's company team in 1991, the club became a founding member of the professional J.League in 1993 under the name JEF United Ichihara, built initially around former Germany international Pierre Littbarski. The most celebrated chapter in the professional era came under Bosnian coach Ivica Osim, who arrived in 2003 and transformed the club into a genuine title contender, culminating in the 2005 Nabisco Cup — the club's first and, to date, only major professional trophy. The club was renamed JEF United Chiba in 2005 when Chiba city was added as a co-hometown alongside Ichihara.
Religation in 2009 ended a remarkable 44-season run in Japan's top flight, and the club spent the following 15 years in J2, narrowly missing promotion on multiple occasions including playoff finals in 2012 and 2014. A third-place finish in the 2025 J2 season, followed by a dramatic playoff run, finally brought the club back to J1 for the 2026 season.
JEF's most enduring rivalry is the Chiba derby against Kashiwa Reysol, a fixture that dates to 1941. Both clubs also share a historic connection with Urawa Reds as fellow founding JSL members whose parent companies were headquartered in Marunouchi, Tokyo — a trio long known as the Marunouchi Gosanke.