Between 1964 and 1975, the Phimai National Museum was the storage warehouse of the art objects which the Fine Arts Department Unit 6 (now the 12th Regional Office) discovered from the excavation and conservation of the Phimai Sanctuary as well as the antiques presented by the people from 4 provinces of the lower Isan. In 1987 with the cooperation of the Thai Army, a budget of 40 million baht was arranged under a green Isan project to develop the Phimai National Museum to be the centre of education and custodian of an important national cultural heritage collection in Thailand.
The best examples of art objects and antiques are now on display in the spacious modern building 1, that covers the Dvaravati, Khmer, Lopburi and Ayutthaya periods. More examples are displayed in the lesser building 2.