The arrondissement of Cherbourg was created in 1811.[4] At the January 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Manche, it gained two communes from the arrondissement of Coutances.[5]
As a result of the reorganisation of the cantons of France which came into effect in 2015, the borders of the cantons are no longer related to the borders of the arrondissements. The cantons of the arrondissement of Cherbourg were, as of January 2015:[6]