The arrondissement of Cosne was created in 1800, disbanded in 1926 and restored in 1943.[4] At the January 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Nièvre, it lost one commune to the arrondissement of Clamecy.[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 Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire were, as of January 2015:[6]