The inaugural edition of the tournament was played in Malaysia in 1996, and featured 12 teams in a single division. The single-division format continued until the 2006 tournament, which featured a record 17 teams. The ACC Trophy was then split into "Elite" (first-grade) and "Challenge" (second-grade) divisions, with the first editions held under this format being the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge (the latter tournament was the only one to be held in an odd year). The two-division format continued until the final tournament in 2012, with promotion and relegation between divisions.
Only six teams – Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates – competed in all nine editions of the ACC Trophy, although the Maldives and Singapore were relegated to the "Challenge" tournament at various stages after the introduction of two divisions. The UAE was by far the most successful ACC Trophy team, with five wins (and four consecutive victories from 2000 to 2006). Bangladesh won the first two tournaments, but were rendered ineligible after gaining Test status.
Note: the above table includes results in all top-flight ACC tournaments – the ACC Trophy from 1996 to 2006, and the ACC Trophy Elite from 2008 to 2012,