The museum collection consists of over 50,000 objects. The majority of the collection consists of handicraft and design products from Sweden and Europe and arts and crafts from Japan and China.

The museum also holds a very fine collection of fashion from the 20th and 21st centuries, including many haute couture garments from Paris and other famous fashion designs from all over the world. Today, the Röhsska Museum mainly collects contemporaneous material and the museum seeks to achieve a dialogue with its users on contemporary phenomena and expression.

The Röhsska Museum was founded in 1904. The financial foundation was a donation from the estate of Wilhelm Röhss in 1901, and in the ensuing years, further donations were made by people including his brother, August Röhss.

The original building, clad in red, hand-made brick was designed by architect Carl Westman in the National Romantic style. In 1916 the museum was opened to the public.