The Order of St Stanislas was founded by Stanislas II Augustus Poniatowski, the last king of Poland, in 1765 on the eve of the Feast of St Stanislas, Bishop, Martyr and Patron Saint of Poland. The Order ranked in Poland second only to the Order of the White Eagle.

On the 7 May 1765, King Stanislas II Augustus Poniatowski founded the Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislus, Bishop and Martyr. The Order was raised to do honour to his patron saint and to give conspicuous recognition to knights who served the monarch. After the partition of Poland it was recognized in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. Since 1815 in the Polish (Congress) Kingdom, the order, originally in a single class, was retained and divided into four classes. After the downfall of the November Uprising, the order was added to the awards system of the Russian Empire in 1832, where it remained until 1917. In 1918 Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic, the order was not renewed and replaced by the Order of Polonia Restituta.

The Order of St. Stanislas was re-established by the President of the Polish Government in Exile, Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki. The Order of St. Stanislas was reintroduced in Poland 1990 after the fall of the communist government.

The original design of the badge was a red enamelled eight-pointed Polish cross superimposed on a white Polish eagle with a plaque in the centre depicting Saint Stanislaus in full bishop's regalia. The design was later altered to a red, eight-pointed Polish cross with white eagles between the arms of the cross and the image of Saint Stanislaus depicted in a circular plaque in the centre of the cross. The ribbon for the Order was red with a white border.

The motto of the Order is : "Praemiando Incitat" (be inspired by reward)

On the 9 June 1979, the Polish Government (In Exile) of President Sokolnicki re-established the Order of Saint Stanislas to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Stanislas of Szczepanow, placing it third in order of precedence after the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of Military Virtue, and before the Order of Polonia Restitutia. It was re-established in five classes and was used to a very great extent as a distinctive reward for those who had served against the might of communism. A considerable number of very well known members of the western world; and senior military officers were awarded this decoration, which had been re-established in five classes. The design of the badge was virtually the same as the early Polish version except that the centrepiece featured a corona civica encircling an upraised crusaders sword, between the monogram SS - signifing victory over totalitarism. On the 15 September 1990, the Polish Government (In Exile) of President Sokolnicki drew up a constitution separating the Order of Saint Stanislas from the patrimony of the Polish Government (In Exile) which was signed by Sokolnicki and all members of his government. The Order was then given an independent character as a charitable order of chivalry, and is now established worldwide and has been adopted the second highest award in the Ukraine national honours list.