The town stands on rising ground north of the river Mardyke, which flows south-west to join the Thames at Purfleet. West of Purfleet are Aveley marshes, bordering the Thames towards Wennington.

Aveley is assumed originally to be of Roman origin, and the manor was held by Gilbert de Tani, in the reign of Henry II. In Domesday the names has various spellings - Alvithelea, Alvileia and Alvilea - the name means Aelfgyth's wood clearing.

In the 14th century there was a ferry from Aveley across the Thames, and to London. It was last mentioned in 1374. In 1505, Aveley was granted by the Crown to the Hospital of the Savoy, in London.

The parish church (St. Michael's) is a Grade 1 listed building that was built in the 12th century. It contains the 14th century memorial brass of Radulphus de Knevynton which is echoed in the arms of the Thurrock unitary authority. The church was declared unsafe in the 19th century, with the recommendation that it should be pulled down. However, the parishioners raised £1000 and saved the structure.

In the 1820s and 1830s Aveley was served by a daily coach between Horndon-on-the-Hill and London, and by various carriers. The London, Tilbury, and Southend railway, opened in 1854 as far as Tilbury, passed through the south-west corner of Aveley, with a station at Purfleet. The branch from Grays was opened as far as Upminster in 1892, with a station at South Ockendon, and was extended to Romford in 1893.

A large National School was built here in 1844, at the cost of £600, on an acre of land given by the lords of the manors.

In 1876 Aveley was said to be a quiet agricultural village with a long street of small houses and cottages, some timber framed and plastered, with 'a decent inn, the Old Ship'.

Aveley became part of Purfleet urban district in 1929 and of Thurrock urban district in 1936. From 1974 it formed the westernmost ward of the borough of Thurrock.

Many timber framed cottages remained until after the Second World War, but by 1954 only two or three survived.

After the Second World War the London county council bought 1220 acres of land in Aveley and South Ockendon to rehouse Londoners and to provide labour for the riverside factories at Purfleet and West Thurrock.