Holloway has achieved promotion three times in a managerial career that began at Bristol Rovers in 1996.
He led Queens Park Rangers to what is now the Championship via the play-offs in 2004 before guiding Blackpool and Crystal Palace into the Premier league via a Wembley showpiece in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Holloway has also had spells in charge of Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City and Millwall before spending just short of a year in charge at Grimsby over the turn of the decade.
Earlier this month he told BBC Sport about his desire to become the latest English manager to take charge of 1,000 matches.
He has worked as a pundit, been an after-dinner speaker and spent time with his grandchildren since leaving Grimsby and told the BBC that he still watched and analysed matches.
Holloway – who becomes the third-oldest EFL manager behind Blackpool’s Steve Bruce and Steve Evans at Rotherham United – takes over a Swindon Town side whose 19th placed finish in League Two last season was their lowest league position in 40 years.
This term has seen more difficulty on the field with just two league wins all season, while there have been fan concerns off the pitch as owner Clem Morfuni struggles to right a club that has had more than its share of financial problems in recent seasons.
“We are confident that Ian’s experience and leadership qualities which he has shown for many years across not just at Premier League level, but the top five divisions of professional football, will be a significant asset for Swindon Town Football Club,” the club’s head of football Jamie Russell said.
“His passionate approach coupled with his location being more local to the South-West area along with most importantly, a desire to build a hardworking and entertaining side is a large part of what made us believe he would be the ideal fit for us.
“Additionally, Ian’s ability to help grow, develop and nurture not only our first-team players but also the dedicated coaching staff we have at Swindon Town was important to us.”