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The area around Newburn is rich with history. Roman remains have been discovered in proximity to Hadrian's Wall. A church here was destroyed by fire in 1072 in the course of a dispute between two claimants of the earldom of Northumberland. Here in 1640, the Battle of Newburn took place. The Scottish Covenanters planted guns to protect them while fording the river, after which they defeated the English on the County Durham (now Gateshead) side at Stellaheugh, and subsequently occupied Newcastle upon Tyne. The name of Scotswood, one of the manufacturing villages between Newburn and the city, commemorates one of their positions. The district has many associations with the famous engineer George Stephenson, who was married in Newburn Parish Church and worked in the Water Row pit in the village. The village is also the birthplace of an earlier steam pioneer William Hedley, whose first locomotive Puffing Billy was built in 1812, two years prior to his rivals first locomotive.

Newburn had been served by Newburn railway station on the Scotswood, Newburn & Wylam Railway since 12 July 1875 up until 15 September 1958 when the line was closed to passengers under the Beeching Axe. The station was closed to goods trains on 26 April 1965.

In 1822 John Spencer started a small steel mill on the Dewley Burn in the north of Newburn. Over the course of next hundred or so years his mill grew to take over much of Newburn as the demand for steel boomed with the growth of railways and other industries. In 1916 the mill had a weekly output of 1,500 tons. Steel plates for the liner Mauretania were made by Spencers. However the industry was hit hard by the depression after the First World War and the steel works closed between 1924 and 1926, despite a large effort to raise £75,000 needed to save the works.. The works' large number of 130-foot (40 m) high chimneys were demolished in 1933. A number of buildings connected with the works still stand today, although with new uses, including two large sheds which are now used as a large indoor scrapyard, and offices which are now used by the Multi-Lab company.

From 1894 to 1974 Newburn, along with other suburbs to the west of Newcastle, were governed by Newburn Urban District Council. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became part of the metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear.

Newburn is renowned for its independent micro brewery "The Big Lamp" which is attached to the pub, "The Keelman" which serves meals and the brewery's own cask ale. Prior to being used as a brewery and pub, the building was used as a pumping station, which opened in 1855. It lay derelict for a number of years but was protected from demolition by being a grade II* listed building. The building was converted and renovated in 1996. The Keelman pub stands at the entrance to the Tyne Riverside Country Park and approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east from the neighbouring village of Wylam.