The variety and manufacturing process of rolling rolls have been continuously developing with the progress of metallurgical technology and the evolution of steel rolling equipment. During the Middle Ages, low strength gray cast iron rollers were used for rolling soft non-ferrous metals. In the mid-18th century, Britain mastered the production technology of cold hard cast iron rollers for rolling steel plates. The advancement of steelmaking technology in Europe in the second half of the 19th century required the rolling of larger tonnage steel ingots, and the strength of both gray cast iron and cold hard cast iron rollers could no longer meet the requirements. Ordinary cast steel rollers with a carbon content of 0.4% to 0.6% were born accordingly. The emergence of heavy-duty forging equipment further enhances the strength and toughness of forging rolls with this composition. The use of alloying elements and the introduction of heat treatment in the early 20th century significantly improved the wear resistance and toughness of cast and forged steel hot and cold rolling rolls. The addition of molybdenum to the cast iron rollers used for hot-rolled plates and strips improved the surface quality of the rolled material. The flushing method of composite casting significantly improves the core strength of the casting roll.

The extensive use of alloy elements in rolling mills was a result of the development of steel rolling equipment towards large-scale, continuous, high-speed, and automated production after World War II, as well as higher requirements for the performance of rolling mills due to the improvement of rolling material strength and increased deformation resistance. During this period, semi steel rollers and ductile iron rollers appeared successively. After the 1960s, powder tungsten carbide rollers were successfully developed. The centrifugal casting technology and differential temperature heat treatment technology widely promoted in Japan and Europe in the early 1970s significantly improved the comprehensive performance of plate and strip rollers. Composite high chromium cast iron rollers have also been successfully used in hot rolling mills. During the same period, forged white iron and semi-steel rollers were applied in Japan. In the 1980s, Europe introduced high chromium steel rolling rolls and cold rolling rolls with ultra deep quenched hardening layers, as well as special alloy cast iron rolling rolls for precision rolling of small steel sections and wire rods. The development of contemporary steel rolling technology has prompted the development of higher performance rolling rolls. Composite rolls made of forged steel or ductile iron with strong and tough core, high-speed steel series outer layer, and metal ceramic rolls produced by centrifugal casting and new composite methods such as continuous casting composite method (CPC method), spray deposition method (Osprey method), electroslag welding method, and hot isostatic pressing method have been applied in the new generation of profile, wire, and strip mills in Europe and Japan, respectively.

China began mass production of cast rollers in the 1930s, but there were very few varieties. In the late 1950s, China's first professional rolling mill was established in Xingtai, Hebei. In 1958, Anshan Iron and Steel Company first tested and used a large nodular cast iron roll for 1050 primary rolling internationally. In the 1960s, cold rolling work rolls and large forged steel rolling rolls were successfully manufactured. In the late 1970s, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company and Beijing Iron and Steel Research Institute jointly successfully developed centrifugal cast iron rollers for furnace coil rolling mills and hot strip rolling mills. Xingtai Metallurgical Machinery Roller Co., Ltd. successfully developed semi steel working rollers for hot strip rolling mills and working rollers for cold rolled strip rolling mills. In the 1980s, China successively developed new varieties such as large forged steel support rollers, forged semi steel and forged white cast iron rollers, powder tungsten carbide roller rings, and high chromium cast iron rollers. By the 1990s, China's roll production had basically met domestic demand and had some exports, but the variety needed to be increased and the quality needed to be improved.