Located in Nikolaev on the square. N. Leontovich.

According to the results of the work, the zoo was the first among the zoos of Ukraine in 1993 was admitted to the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The zoo takes part in 18 European Rare Species Breeding Programs (EEP), is a member of the Euro-Asian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA), and the International Animal Registry System (ISIS). In May 2003, the Mykolaiv Zoo was the first zoo in Ukraine to be admitted to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
April 26, 1901 Mayor Nikolai Pavlovich Leontovich founded his private collection, which was located in his house. The Leontovich collection was widely known in Russia and Europe. The aquarium had electric compressors and heaters. The fish were housed in 75 aquariums. The collection included about 50 species of fish and amphibians, over 1000 specimens. Nikolai Leontovich constantly published articles on aquarism, was an active member of the society of nature lovers in Nikolaev. In 1918 Leontovich's collection was nationalized, and he himself was appointed the first director of the State Aquarium.

With heavy losses, the Aquarium survived the civil war. On June 25, 1922, the second solemn opening of the Nikolaev State Aquarium took place. This year it was visited by about 40 thousand people. The visit was free. Until 1923, the Nikolaev State Aquarium was maintained by the local public education, then it was transferred to the state budget, and from March 1934 to the city budget.
In 1925, a zoological department was opened at the Aquarium, and it became known as the Aquarium-Zoo. Bison, camels, yaks, deer, moufflons, and ostriches were brought from Askania-Nova. Especially for the zoo, bears, wolves, foxes, monkeys were purchased. The territory was increased to 0.75 hectares. Enclosures for ungulates, cages of predators were built, a park was laid out. In 1928 the staff of the zoo consisted of 9 people. Nikolai Leontovich, his family and some employees lived in the park.

In 1934, unjustified repressions of Leontovich and his family began. On July 28, 1937, he was arrested on charges of having links with the counter-revolutionary intelligentsia and participating in a military officer organization. On December 4, 1935, Fyodor Grigoryevich Nichikov, who graduated from the Odessa Institute of Vocational Education and postgraduate studies at the Odessa State Scientific and Biological Institute, came to the Aquarium-Zoo as a researcher. With the arrival of Fyodor Nichikov at the Zoo, the work was put on a scientific basis: lectures, excursions, and consultations began to be held.
On August 16, 1941, Nazi troops entered the city. The zoo was not evacuated. During the years of occupation, the zoo was open to visitors. In September 1942, 24 people worked at the zoo. The zoo museum keeps authentic entrance tickets of that time, printed in Ukrainian and German.

Since 1948, the Aquarium-Zoo was renamed the Nikolaev Zoo. At that time, he was subordinate to the regional executive committee, the department of cultural education and financed by the regional budget. In the 1950s, the zoo's collection was greatly enlarged. Cougars, snow leopard, polar bears, spotted hyena, Himalayan bear appeared in it. In 1955, the Indian elephant Mary was brought, which was presented to Nikita Khrushchev by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In 1970, construction began on the new territory. Money, as usual, was not enough, and construction was carried out extremely sluggishly. Some city leaders thought it would be easier to close the zoo. But since 1974, the zoo began to be built using the folk construction method.
From September 7 to 10, 2001, the International Scientific and Practical Conference was held at the zoo. The slogan of the zoo "Only by our joint efforts we will save the world of wild animals" became its name and the leading theme. More than 60 people from 29 zoos in 10 countries took part in the conference. On September 9, 2001, the grand opening of a new square and a monument to the founder of the zoo, Nikolai Pavlovich Leontovich, took place. The authors of the monument are Inna, Yuri and Viktor Makushin.

Since 1988, the zoo has a museum of its history. Materials for creation began to be collected in the early 1980s. The museum presents documents, photographs, personal belongings of Nikolai Leontovich, Fyodor Nichikov, memoirs of employees, a collection of skulls and stuffed animals that once lived in the zoo, a collection of eggs, maps and guides of other zoos.
In 2003, Ukraine hosted the 100 Best Goods and Services competition for product quality. The competition was held under the patronage of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and the Cabinet of Ministers. According to the results of the national stage, the Nikolaev zoo was recognized as the winner in the nomination "Service" with the award of the state quality mark. The award ceremony took place on March 15, 2004 at the National Palace "Ukraine" in Kyiv.