The Institute of Slovenian Language was established in 1945 for the purpose of compiling linguistic materials and using them for the creation of basic Slovenian language resources, such as: a dictionary of orthography and pronunciation, a dictionary of standard Slovenian, descriptive and historical studies in linguistics, and many more.

The Institute has been re-organised several times. Since the establishment of ZRC SAZU in 1982, it has included the sections for lexicological, etymological-onomastic, dialectological and terminological dictionaries. In 1986 the Institute was named after its first head, Academician Dr Fran Ramovš.