The show was pitched to Disney Channel executives as an animated series in 2002, and after being greenlit, the pitch bible was developed into a full television series by executive producers Matt Negrete and Eddie Guzelian.

Dave Filoni, later known for his work on Star Wars animated series, was the storyboard artist for the pilot episode and drew the initial character designs.

The series was originally scheduled to premiere in fall 2004 but was pushed to January 2005 because Brandy & Mr. Whiskers needed to be completed in time for its September debut instead.

The show actually premiered in the UK a month earlier than in the US, airing on December 19, 2004, before its US premiere on January 21, 2005.

For season 2, director Steve Loter and the executives requested a complete redesign of all characters and backgrounds due to their dissatisfaction with the original season's designs.

The season 1 theme song was performed by the band Mavin, while the season 2 theme song was re-recorded by the Jonas Brothers.

Steve Loter, who had directed Kim Possible, was initially set to join American Dragon: Jake Long as director and executive producer for season 2, but returned to Kim Possible after Disney Channel renewed it for a fourth season, leading Nick Filippi to become the new director instead.

Jake Long and his friends crossed over into an episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series titled 'Morpholomew,' in which they travel to Hawaii to investigate one of Jumba's experiments while Stitch and Jake team up to stop Gantu.