In 1994, the Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine was rebranded the Star Wars Insider to coincide with the release of the TIE Fighter video game from LucasArts.
Issues 62–76 were published by Paizo Publishing, from October 2002 to May 2004.
Issues 77–92 were published by IDG Entertainment, from August 2004 to February 2007.
It was announced at Celebration IV in 2007 that the Star Wars Insider would be moving to a new publisher, Titan Magazines, a UK-based company and the world's largest publisher of genre magazines.
Issues 107 to 174 have been edited by Jonathan Wilkins. At issue 175, Will Salmon took over as editor, and was in turn succeeded by Christopher Cooper.
The North American system of numbering issues differs significantly from its UK counterpart but aligned the numbering from Issue 150 onwards. There has also been a Star Wars Insider in France since April 21, 2015.
The magazine contains sections that focus on what is new in the Star Wars universe, be they events, fiction, excerpts from comics, exclusive previews, articles that explore the Star Wars universe in detail, questions and answers, or interviews.
A popular section of the magazine is Bantha Tracks, overseen by Lucasfilm's Pete Vilmur, who replaced the section's previous editor Mary Franklin in mid-2015. It is created entirely by fans of Star Wars, with art and photographs submitted by fans. Other sections include:
- , providing "all the latest news, fun, games and gossip from the Star Wars Universe"
- , where Star Wars actors, authors, special effects technicians and celebrity guests discuss their favorite aspects of the franchise
- , a list of five facts about Star Wars, one of which was fake, with the reader invited to guess which one
- Jedi Archive
- , discussing why a selected scene in Star Wars continuity is notable
- Red Five
- Books
- Comics
- Ask Lobot
- Incoming
- Bounty Hunters
- Bantha Tracks
- Com-Scan
- The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 1
- The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 2
- The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 3
- The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 4
- Star Wars Insider: Lords of the Sith
- Star Wars Insider: Heroes of the Force
- Star Wars Insider: Icons of the Galaxy
- Star Wars Insider: The Saga Begins
- Star Wars Insider: The Original Trilogy
- Star Wars Insider: Rogues, Scoundrels, and Bounty Hunters
- Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Volume 1
- Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Volume 2
- Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Starlight Stories
- Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment
- Star Wars Insider: Aliens, Creatures, and Droids
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance – The Official Collector's Edition
- Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – The Official Collector's Edition
- Star Wars Insider: The Galaxy's Greatest Heroes
- Star Wars Insider: The Galaxy's Greatest Villains
- Star Wars Insider Presents: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Two Collector's Edition Volume One
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season Two
- Star Wars Insider Presents: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One Volume One
- Star Wars Insider Presents: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One Volume Two
- Star Wars Insider Presents: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Two Collector's Edition Volume Two
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian Collection
To coincide with the release of Star Wars: Battlefront and the original trilogy on DVD, Best Buy offered an Exclusive Collector's Issue of Star Wars Insider on September 20, 2004.