The series is based on the Roswell High young adult book series written by Melinda Metz and edited by Laura J. Burns, who later became a staff writer for the TV show.

Roswell High was originally developed by 20th Century Fox Television and Regency Television for the Fox Network, but ended up airing on The WB, which offered a full 22-episode upfront commitment.

The pilot episode was filmed in just 12 days on a budget of $2,000,000.

The series was filmed in various California locations, including City Hall and Charter Oak High School in Covina, which stood in for the fictional Roswell, New Mexico, as well as Vasquez Rocks park in Los Angeles County; the season 3 premiere was partly filmed in Salina, Utah.

After low ratings and a shift toward stand-alone episodes in season one, a fierce fan campaign involving bottles of Tabasco sauce (the alien characters' favorite condiment) being sent to the network's offices helped bring veteran sci-fi writer Ronald D. Moore on board as executive producer and showrunner for season two.

The WB cancelled the show after its second season, but producing studio 20th Century Fox persuaded UPN to pick it up for a third season as part of a package deal when UPN outbid The WB for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Roswell airing directly after Buffy on UPN's Tuesday nights.

Dido's song 'Here With Me' became the show's opening theme starting with the second episode, 'The Morning After,' and was retained on all DVD releases across all three seasons.

Due to licensing issues, many of the original songs used during broadcast were replaced on home video releases, though key symbolic tracks like Sarah McLachlan's 'Fear,' Dave Matthews Band's 'Crash Into Me,' and Sheryl Crow's 'I Shall Believe' were kept; notably, only the German-language broadcast track and syndicated episodes preserve all the original music.