Airbourne formed as a hard rock band in late 2003 in the Victorian country town of Warrnambool by Joel O'Keeffe (born c. 1985) and his younger brother Ryan (born c. 1986). Joel had played guitar since the age of 11 and Ryan got his first drum kit four years later also at the age of 11. Joel met David Roads (born c. 1983) when the two worked at the Hotel Warrnambool. The pair brought their guitars to work and, after their shifts, jammed on song ideas; Roads was asked to join the O’Keeffe brothers on rhythm guitar for rehearsals at their house. By late 2003, Adam Jacobson had joined on bass guitar, the group was named Airbourne and played regular gigs at the local Criterion Hotel.

In March 2004 the four-piece won a statewide band competition, Push-On, in Melbourne. Their early material was influenced by Australian rock bands AC/DC, The Angels, Billy Thorpe and Rose Tattoo. They recorded an eight-track extended play, Ready to Rock, which appeared in July 2004 as an independent self-funded release. By that time Jacobson was replaced by Justin Street (born c. 1986) on bass guitar – Ryan had met Street while stumbling home drunk from a party one night. In early 2005, the band relocated to Melbourne and in August, they signed a five album record deal with Capitol Records. According to Joel, while the band were living in a shared house they threw a party, and during listening to a Krokus CD, Rock the Block, a blown fuse resulted in a fire burning the back part of the house. The group have supported Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones, as well as performing at summer music festivals.

The album peaked in the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, top 40 on New Zealand's RIANZ Albums Chart and appeared on charts in Austria, Switzerland and France. During late 2007, the group toured the United States supporting Kid Rock and Korn. Runnin' Wild was issued in North America, Europe and Japan in January 2008, after which they relocated permanently to the US. The album reached the Top 100 on the UK Albums Chart and appeared on the Billboard 200. In September 2007, they issued a five-track live extended play, Live at the Playroom.

Airbourne have gained exposure in the WWE. Their song, "Stand Up for Rock and Roll", was the official theme song for the Royal Rumble 2008. They performed a cover version of "Turn Up the Trouble", Mr. Kennedy's entrance theme, which replaced Jim Johnston's original version. In 2013, their song "Live It Up" was chosen as the official theme song for Extreme Rules 2013. In 2016, "Breaking Outta Hell" was chosen as the official theme song for WWE Hell In A Cell. It has been used since 2016.

In the movie The Lost Boys: The Tribe, a sequel to the original Lost Boys, the song "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" is played in the car as Chris and Nicole drive to their new house. The song is also used in the 2009 comedy I Love You Beth Cooper. The song "Let's Ride" appears in the 2008 film College. The song "Diamond in the Rough" is constantly used during the NRL games on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons when transitioning to commercial breaks. It is also featured in the film She's Out of My League. The song "Hellfire" was used in the "This is a Skateboard Car" episode of MTV's Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. The song "Runnin' Wild" was used in the Battlefield: Bad Company TV Spot "Totally Not". The song "Firepower" was used in a trailer for the video game Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. "Runnin' Wild" was used in the trailers for the films Tangled and Frozen. The song "It's All for Rock N' Roll" was used in an announcement trailer of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

The album was produced by Johnny K, mixed by Mike Fraser, and was released on 8 March 2010 in the UK, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and in the U.S. on 20 April. "Born to Kill", was first played live at the Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand in October 2009. In January 2010, another new song, "No Way But the Hard Way", was played on the BBC Radio 1's Rock Show. On 9 February it was available on iTunes, as the first single from the album. The album reached the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and top 20 on albums charts in Austria, New Zealand, Finland, Greece, Sweden and Switzerland. In the UK it peaked at No. 31, while on the US Billboard 200 it reached the top 100.

The Band went on a UK Tour supporting Iron Maiden on their Final Frontier World Tour from 20 July Starting at Glasgow SECC Arena ending at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on 1 August 2011

It was announced in November 2011 through their official Facebook page that since mid-2011 the band had been working on a new album, and that updates were to follow soon. The album's name, Black Dog Barking, was announced in early February 2013 on their Facebook page. It was released on 21 May 2013 via Roadrunner. The cover artwork was once again created by Australian artists The Sharp Brothers, who also did the cover artwork for No Guts. No Glory. According to David Roads, the idea behind the album title was, to use the Black Dog as a metaphor for the band's ability to break the rules, especially not to care for db limits. At the end of 2013 Airbourne toured Europe, supported - amongst others - by the Swedish band Corroded.

In November 2014, Joel O'Keeffe revealed the band was already writing songs for their next studio album.

In January 2015, the band revealed that they signed for a worldwide deal with Spinefarm Records.

In June 2016, the band announced that the new album would be titled Breakin' Outta Hell, being released September 23, 2016. The title track was released as a single on July 8.

On April 7, 2017, it was announced via the band's Facebook page that long-time rhythm Guitarist David Roads would be leaving the band to work in his family Business. Harri Harrison was announced as his replacement.