Torre del Mar was founded at the beginning of the 16th century, a settlement protected by a small castle from the Nasrid dynasty, known as the Alcozaiba Tower. This was later renamed 'Torre de la Mar' (tower of the sea) in 1487 when the village was occupied by the Catholic kings. In this time it was given to Ruiz López de Toledo who refused the offer and donated it to the city of Vélez-Málaga.

The basic pillars of the economy of Torre del Mar were agriculture, fishing and trade and in the 18th century Torre del Mar became the port of the Axarquia region; it exported most of its agricultural products (wines, raisins, oil, almonds, dried figs, citrus fruits, etc.) to the major ports in northern Europe.

The 19th century saw a decline in commercial growth due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure. The Larios family ran the Factory Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Torre del Mar for 134 years, having great economic and political power throughout the province. From 1988, the production of sugar cane began to decline drastically and in 1991 Torre del Mar had its last harvest. In the first years of the 20th century started what became the new economic direction of Torre del Mar began, tourism, for Spanish people and foreigners.

Between 1864 and 1889 Torre del Mar already had a lighthouse at the mouth of the river Vélez, but it was destroyed after a while. Later, in 1930, another lighthouse was built in what is now Avenida Toré Toré, with a height of 25 meters.