Built in 1967, the Urmia Museum is located on Beheshti Street. It has a grand hall dedicated to ancient selections from different historical periods, and a smaller anthropology hall, where films and slides are put to screen on special occasions.

There is also a collection of exquisite hand written books and manuscripts, mostly Holy Quran and other religious, Islamic books. In addition, the museum houses an assortment of relics from prehistoric, historic and Islamic eras, as well as works of national and decorative arts, objects of anthropology, handicrafts and so on.

The most recent artifacts in this museum go back to the Qajar dynasty. With its oldest treasures dating back to the 7th century BC, Urmia Museum is one of the richest museums in the country. Among the valuables kept at the museum are Estel Kalleh Shin, Estel Movana and the Mahmoodabad inscription, three manuscripts in Urartu cuneiform from the 1st century BC. The museum has several different sections including:

Prehistoric Section: This section of the museum is home to prehistoric objects unearthed in excavations in hills in Esmailabad, Amlash (Gilan), Hassanlu (Naghadeh), Silk (Kashan), Dinkha and Ammarlu. The collection of clay, ceramic and gunmetal objects is on public display.

Lorestan Historic Section: The historical items on display in this section of the museum have been mostly discovered in Lorestan. They include objects made of gunmetal and bronze, mostly armaments and other metal tools, as well as ceramic pieces dating back to the 1st century BC.

Historic Section: The objects kept in this section date back to the pre-Islamic era. The pieces are mostly made of metal and ceramic, dug out in Susa, Daylaman, Khorvin, Nowruz Mahalleh, Rey, Rudbar, Gari, Rahmatabad, Siahkal, Ammarlu and Nahavand.

Coin Section: This section displays a collection of coins from pre-Islamic ages and the pre-Islamic governments in Iran, also Islamic periods of the Omavid, Abbasid, Buyid, Seljuk, Atabeg, Mongol, Timurid, Jalayerid, Aq Qoyunlu, Safavid and Zand dynasties.

Islamic Section: Most of the objects on display in Urmia Museum belong to Islamic eras, representing the Islamic civilization in this land and its impact on making pots and pans and historical artifacts. Among the valuable collection of objects are extremely delicate dishware decorated with Kufi inscriptions or verses from the Holy Quran, also banner heads used in mourning ceremonies, Kufi and Arabic transcripts and verses from the Holy Book of Quran, collected from different places around the country. The dates of these pieces vary between the early days of Islam to 14th century, AH. They include pottery and metallic objects unearthed in Gorgan, Rey, Ghoochan, Sabzevar, Neishabur, Arak, Kashan, Saveh, Susa, Gonbad Kavoos, Birjand, and Isfahan.

Anthropology Section: There is an extensive collection of anthropological works on display at this section of the Urmia Museum, including clothes and utensils from past centuries, miscellaneous objects made of copper, bronze, glass, cloth, ceramic and wood, as well as statues of people from different ethnicities of the country in their ethnic costumes.

Decorative Arts Section: Visitors can observe an interesting collection of artifacts on display, such as manuscripts and verses of the Holy Quran in different styles of calligraphy including Naskh and Nasta’liq, miniature paintings, works of Muraqqa (albums of exemplary calligraphy patchworks) and penholders from the 13th and 14th centuries AH.