Anarchism in Poland first developed at the turn of the 20th century under the influence of anarchist ideas from Western Europe and from Russia.

Prior to Polish independence from the Russian Empire, several anarchist organizations emerged within the area that would become the Second Polish Republic. The first of these, known as "The Struggle", formed in Białystok in 1903. In the following years similar organizations established themselves in Gniezno, Warsaw, Łódź, Siedlce, Częstochowa, Kielce, and other towns. One of the most active, a group known as "International", had its base in Warsaw. This group, composed of Jewish workers, organized strikes throughout the city during the Polish insurrection of 1905.

The tsarist régime (which controlled much of Poland before 1914) acted with a high level of despotism. The authorities commonly fired on demonstrating workers. In January 1906 the authorities arrested sixteen members of the International group and shot them without trial.

Significant Polish theorists of anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism included Edward Abramowski (1868–1918), Jan Wacław Machajski (1866–1926), Augustyn Wróblewski (1866–1923) and Rafał Górski (1973–2010).

The pioneers of the Polish anarchist movement were the movement of Polish Brethren, active in the 16th century. It was one of the Protestant currents with a clearly anti-state, anti-war and communist attitude. Among the Brethren, there were representatives of commoners, bourgeoisie and nobility. They professed the principle of brotherhood of all people. They refused military and state service, condemned the death penalty, and rejected the possibility of having landed estates benefiting from the serfdom of peasants.

The beginnings of the Polish anarchist movement can also be traced to the circles of the nineteenth century radical democracy. It leaned towards the idea of communal administration, and thus the self-government of communes, combining democratic freedom and equality with a strong moral bond. Joachim Lelewel, for example, referred to the rules of communal administration. The Polish Democratic Society also referred to this idea. The development of the theory of communal rule was influenced by contacts with European anarchism. Although Polish democrats were not too interested in Proudhon's works, the views of the Pan-Slavist Mikhail Bakunin were warmly received. Many Polish emigrants ended up in the Bakuninian Society of International Brothers. Polish supporters of anarchism tried to combine the traditions of the commune with new forms of action, like strikes.

In 1864 the Polish Republican Center was established. It was founded by Józef Hauke-Bosak, Ludwik Bulewski and Leon Zienkowicz. It was the Polish section of the Universal Republican Alliance, created by Giuseppe Mazzini.

In each of the partitions, anarchism took a slightly different shape. In the fairly liberal Austrian Partition, where reformist tendencies prevailed, anarcho-syndicalism was the most popular among anarchists. The situation was different in the Russian Partition, where only a revolutionary struggle was possible. In the Prussian Partition, the socialist movement, and thus anarchism, could count on little support.