Napoleon's scientific contingent made one of the first collections of echinoderms of the Indian Ocean when they visited the Gulf of Suez and the north-western coast of the Red Sea. Our knowledge of the echinoderms of the Indian Ocean is mainly due to the various expeditions, starting with the Challenger Expedition (1873-1874) to the recent International Indian Ocean Expedition (1961-1965) organised with the co-operation of several nations. Apart from these expeditions small vessels engaged in marine survey notably the R.I.M.S. Investigator and the vessels belonging to the Union of South African Fisheries and Marine Biological Survey have collected many echinoderms from the Indian and South African waters respectively. Numerous individual workers who collected the echinoderms from various parts of the Indian Ocean have also significantly contributed to our knowledge of the echinoderms of the Indian Ocean. This paper reviews a history of the echinodermology of the Indian Ocean.