At the spot where now is Sher -Dor , was built a khanaka by Ulugbek for the Sufis. Disproportionately large size of the dome were the reason why the building collapsed in the XVII century. In place of ithis khanaka the ruler of Samarkand -Yalangtush - Biy began to build a large madrasas, later known as the Sher -Dor Madrasah that means, " with the lions ." The portal shows the fantastic animals of the cat and goats. The building was constructed almost 17 years, from 1619 to 1636 . Its author was the architect Abdul Jabbar .
Sher -Dor is  a complete imitation of Ulugbek Madrasah ,standing in front of it, but the building has distorted proportions .

With the establishment of Soviet power in Samarkand were started large-scale restoration work and archaeological research; khujdras were repaired , falled part of the harness and the brick arch portal arch were corrected, carved tympanum mosaic was reinforced. Uzbek craftsmen actively participated In this work. They produced disassembly and masonry arch in ancient traditions, without circling . Masonry was completed in 1925. Later hujras domes and vaults were shifted , as well as tiled facades wings madrassas and yard facades.

As a result of archaeological autopsies summer of 1956 it was established the foundation of a good state madrasa , suggest that its foundation is built of bricks obtained by parsing the walls of Ulugbek’s khanaka .
In subsequent years, has been an extensive restoration work on the southern and eastern facades, two minarets , each 31 meters in height , the main façade and the restoration of a carved tympanum mosaic on a large portal arch. The ground level was lowered  along the south and east facades.