Haguro was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki on 16 March 1925, launched and named on 24 March 1928, and was commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 25 April 1929.
Between 1931 and 1933 she was commanded by Nomura Naokuni who subsequently achieved flag rank.
Her service in World War II started in the Dutch East Indies, where she engaged the enemy off Makassar on 8 February 1942. Haguro then played a key role in the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, first sinking the destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer and then later the same day the Allied fleet's flagship, the cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter; both by torpedo. Two days later, on 1 March 1942 in another action south of Borneo, Haguro took part in the sinking of the cruiser HMS Exeter and the destroyer HMS Encounter.
On 7 May 1942, she participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea, moving on to the Solomon Islands where she took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, the evacuation from Guadalcanal at the end of January 1943. Haguro took light damage in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay on 2 November 1943.
Haguro under attack at Rabaul on 2 November 1943, showing damage received in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay that morning.
On 19 June 1944, she survived the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and from 23–25 October 1944 she took light damage in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Haguro firing on US carrier aircraft while under air attack, Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944.
In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British "Operation Dukedom" and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with the destroyer Kamikaze just after midnight on 16 May 1945, and began the attack. During the battle, Kamikaze was lightly damaged, but Haguro was hit by gunfire and three Mark IX torpedoes from the British destroyers. She soon began to slow down and took a 30-degree list to port.
At 02:32, Haguro began to go down stern first in the Malacca Strait, 55 mi (48 nmi; 89 km) off Penang; Kamikaze rescued 320 survivors, but 900 men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Sugiura, perished with her. Rear Admiral Sugiura was posthumously promoted to vice admiral on 16 May. Haguro was the last major Japanese warship to be sunk in a surface action during the war.
Haguro was stricken from the navy list on 20 June 1945.
