Waiblingen was first mentioned in Carolingian documents in 885 at the time of Charles the Fat. It received its town charter in 1250.
Waiblingen was property of the Salian kings, from whom the Hohenstaufen dukes and kings inherited it. It is assumed that the Italian name of the Hohenstaufen party, Ghibelline, is derived from "Waiblingen".
The town was almost completely destroyed in 1634 during the Thirty Years' War, and its citizens either killed or deported. It was rebuilt after the war; the existing old central part of the town dates back to the years between 1640 and 1700. Its fortifications are now well restored.
Waiblingen houses the principal office of the world's biggest chainsaw manufacturer, Stihl. Also the Robert Bosch GmbH has two factories there, for polymer and packaging technology.