The commune Falkensee was formed in 1923 by the merger of Falkenhagen and Seegefeld, composing the common name from Falkenhagen and Seegefeld.

During World War II, the Demag-Panzerwerke subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was located here. At its height, 2,500 people were imprisoned in the camp and used as slave labour.

The municipality shared its borders with the former West Berlin, and so during the period 1961-1990 it was separated from it by the Berlin Wall.

As a suburban municipality directly neighbouring Berlin, Falkensee grew strongly with Berlin itself. After the 2nd World War, Falkensee's population shrunk due to the relatively isolated position "behind" West Berlin, seen from the GDR capital. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Falkensee's population doubled and continues to grow.