First published in January 1993 as Diksi Majalah Ilmiah Penelitian Bahasa dan Seni by the Faculty of Languages and Arts Education, IKIP Yogyakarta, under Dean's Decree No. 009 of 1992 (2 November 1992). It appeared twice a year, in May and September, with Drs. Suminto A. Sayuti as editor-in-chief and a cover designed by Drs. Djoko Maruto.

Under Dean's Decree No. 79 of 2000 (28 August 2000), the word "Penelitian" (Research) was dropped from the title so the journal could also publish critical conceptual articles. Drs. Kusman Abdi, M.A. became editor-in-chief.

Starting with Vol. 9, No. 19 (January 2002), the journal took its present name, Diksi: Jurnal Ilmiah Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, reflecting its focus on language, literature, and their teaching.

From Vol. 25, No. 1 (April 2017), Diksi has been published online with e-ISSN 2579-6399.

Prof. Dr. Anwar Efendi, M.Si. became editor-in-chief, and the journal settled into a regular schedule of two issues a year, in March and September.

Beginning with the March 2022 issue, Diksi revised its article template and optimised its OJS site in response to earlier accreditation reviews. It also began publishing in English to reach a wider readership and adopted APA 7th edition for references.