Coseley was originally a village in the ancient manor of Sedgley. In 1897, it broke away from the parish of Sedgley and became Coseley Urban District Council. At this stage most of the Coseley area was occupied by industrial and agricultural land.

Coseley Urban District Council built several thousand houses and flats over a 40-year period from the mid 1920s which changed the face of the area. But 1966 saw the Urban District Council become part of Dudley County Borough, although the Brierley (not to be confused with Brierley Hill) and Ettinghsall areas were incorporated into Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough instead.

Coseley is now part of the Bilston WV14 postal district.