The journal Public Health and Life Environment – PH&LE was established in 1993 by the Federal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, Federal Budgetary Health Institution of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), Moscow, Russian Federation (former Russian Republican Information and Analytical Center (RosRIAC)), Registration certificate No. 0110743 of June 3, 1993 of the Ministry of Press and Information of the Russian Federation.

It was later re-registered with the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) on September 22, 2011 and September 22, 2017 (Mass Media Registration Certificate PI No. FS77-71110 of September 22, 2017). The first editor-in-chief of the journal was the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of Russia Dr. Anatoly A. Monisov.

In 2015, the journal received international registration number ISSN 2219-5238 (Print) and in 2019 – ISSN 2619-0788 (Online).

The editorial board and council of the journal are represented by 48 leading Russian and foreign scientists (Germany, Norway, Greece, Croatia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan), chiefs of scientific and other organizations, including six academicians, two corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and five Honored Scientists of the Russian Federation.  

Since 2001, by the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, the journal Public Health and Life Environment – PH&LE has been regularly included in the List of peer-reviewed scientific journals publishing the main results of dissertations for degrees of the Candidate and/or Doctor of Sciences.

In 2015, PH&LE entered the collection of 1,000 best Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) journals.

As of December 2019, according to the analysis of the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI), the two-year impact factor of the journal Public Health and Life Environment was 0.660 and the five-year factor was 0.618 (detailed information can be found on the website of the scientific electronic library eLIBRARY.RU).