It was in 1947 when Dr. Ihsan Doğramacı had the first idea of establishing a child health center in the slum settlements around the Dört Yol neighbourhood and Hacettepe Park, one of the first residential areas of Ankara. The project which was developed in 1951 aimed to bring quality to basic public health care services and child health-care, and to become a model for other existing hospitals with the education provided.

For this purpose, a Child Health Center was established in affiliation with Ankara University on February 2, 1954. Dr. Ihsan Doğramacı was the Head of the center, and the staff consisted of 1 assistant, 2 nurses and 1 secretary. A two room house was rented at the Dört Yol neighborhood, and an outpatient clinic was officially opened to operate for 4 days a week. 

Dr. Ihsan Doğramacı attached great importance to the selection of educators who would work at the center he planned to create, and for this purpose he provided scholarships for 17 residents and specialists for education in the United States of America.

In 1957, an inpatient ward with a bed capacity of 20-30 started to offer services along with the outpatient clinic.

On August 8,1958, Ankara University Institute of Child Health and Hacettepe Children’s Hospital with a bed capacity of 150 were officially opened as of the Law No: 4936 and Law No: 892.

On March 23, 1961, the entire children's hospital was burned down in a fire; however, the hospital with a bed capacity of 250 was re- opened as a result of a six-month devoted work in September 1961.

It hosted the 2nd Middle East Mediterranean Countries Pediatric Congress. Taking into consideration the needs of the time, a general hospital with a bed capacity of 1000 was established, and the bed capacity of the children's hospital was increased to 350.

In 1961, the Institute of Health Sciences was established in affiliation with the Institute of Child Health, which started to offer education in the fields of Nursing, Medical Technology, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. In 1962, Departments of Home Economics and Nutrition were added respectively.

In 1963, Hacettepe Institute of Health Sciences was transformed into the Faculty of Medicine and Health so that Hacettepe Faculty of Medicine, which was Ankara's second and Turkey's fourth faculty of medicine, could be established. The faculty gave its first graduates on July 8, 1969. In 1971, School of Dentistry was also transformed into a faculty.

Moreover, the Institute offered postgraduate and doctorate programmes in the field of family health within Hacettepe Faculty of Health Sciences. During the years 1980-1981, the Institute developed its own programmes apart from the Faculty of Health Sciences. It started offering a doctorate programme in the field of family health and postgraduate programmes in the fields of Adolescent Medicine, Social Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Allergy, Child Psychiatry, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases, Gastoenterology and Hepatology, Genetics, Hematology, Immunology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Neonatology, Neurology, Nutrition and Metabolism, Oncology, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Pathology, Pediatric Radiology, Pediatric Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Primary Health Services, Medical Biology, and Virology.

The Institute also supported 16 students in order to enable them to complete their postgraduate education at the Department of Pediatrics (1 in Hematology, 1 in Hepatology, 1 in Cardiology, 1 in Neurology, 3 in Nephrology, 1 in Oncology, 2 in Endocrinology, 1 in Allergy, 2 in Pathology and 2 in Infectious Diseases). Support is now given by the Ministry of Health within a fellowship programme.

Since 1982, the Institute has been restricted to give education to the following departments as of the Law No: 2547:

Department of Family Health

Department of Social Pediatrics

Department of Pediatric Basic Sciences

Division of Genetics

Division of Immunology

Division of Nutrition and Metabolism

The founder of Hacettepe University Child Health Institute,  Professor Dr. Ihsan Doğramacı, maintained his position as the Director of the Institute until December 1981, the time when he was appointed as  the President of the Council of Higher Education. In the first meeting of the Administrative Board of the Institute, the founder and the honorary Rector Professor Dr. Ihsan Doğramacı was appointed as the Honorary Director of the Institute.