| No | Chief of staff | Took office | Left office | Notes |
|---|
| Wing Commander A. E. Dale | | | |
| Wing Commander Rohan Amerasekera | May 1955 | December 1960 | Wing Commander Rohan Amerasekera was appointed as 3th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Vice Marshal. |
| Group Captain Paddy Mendis | December 1969 | | Wing Commander Paddy Mendis was appointed as 4th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Vice Marshal. |
| Air Commodore Harry Goonatilake | | 13 October 1976 | Air Commodore Harry Goonatilake was appointed as 5th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Vice Marshal. |
| Air Commodore Dick Perera | | 30 April 1981 | Air Commodore Walter Fernando was appointed as 6th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Vice Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Walter Fernando | 1981 | 30 April 1985 | Air Vice Marshal Walter Fernando was appointed as 7th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Terry Gunawardena | | 31 July 1990 | Air Vice Marshal Terry Gunawardena was appointed as 8th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe | | 16 February 1994 | Air Vice Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe was appointed as 9th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Anslem Peiris | | | |
| Air Vice Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody | | 5 March 1998 | Air Vice Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody was appointed as 10th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Donald Perera | December 1998 | 15 July 2002 | Air Vice Marshal Donald Perera was appointed as 11th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal WDRMJ Goonetileke | | 10 June 2006 | Air Vice Marshal WDRMJ Goonetileke was appointed as 12th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama | 2011 | 27 February 2011 | Air Vice Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama was appointed as 13th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake | 27 February 2011 | 27 February 2014 | Air Vice Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake was appointed as 14th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala | 2014 | 14 June 2015 | Air Vice Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala was appointed as 15th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal C.R. Gurusinghe | 1 February 2016 | | |
| Air Vice Marshal Sumangala Dias | 1 October 2016 | 28 May 2019 | Air Vice Marshal Sumangala Dias was appointed as 17th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana | 2019 | 1 November 2020 | Air Vice Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana was appointed as 18th Commander of the Air Force and promoted to Air Marshal. |
| Air Vice Marshal Prasanna Payoe | 9 March 2021 | | |
| Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa | 12 September 2022 | 29 June 2023 | |
| Air Vice Marshal RS Wickremeratne | 9 July 2023 | 3 March 2025 | |
| Air Vice Marshal Lasitha Sumanaweera | 4 March 2025 | | |
