diff --git a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/BUILD b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/BUILD
index 807e834b82..aefd283d0c 100644
--- a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/BUILD
+++ b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/BUILD
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ tf_ng_module(
         ":histogram_styles",
     ],
     deps = [
+        ":formatter",
         ":types",
         "//tensorboard/webapp/third_party:d3",
         "//tensorboard/webapp/widgets:resize_detector",
@@ -37,11 +38,13 @@ tf_ts_library(
     name = "histogram_test",
     testonly = True,
     srcs = [
+        "formatter_test.ts",
         "histogram_card_fob_test.ts",
         "histogram_test.ts",
         "histogram_util_test.ts",
     ],
     deps = [
+        ":formatter",
         ":histogram",
         ":types",
         "//tensorboard/webapp/angular:expect_angular_core_testing",
@@ -66,3 +69,14 @@ tf_ts_library(
         "//tensorboard/webapp:tb_polymer_interop_types",
     ],
 )
+
+tf_ts_library(
+    name = "formatter",
+    srcs = [
+        "formatter.ts",
+    ],
+    visibility = ["//tensorboard:internal"],
+    deps = [
+        "//tensorboard/webapp/third_party:d3",
+    ],
+)
diff --git a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter.ts b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b9072b231f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/* Copyright 2022 The TensorFlow Authors. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+==============================================================================*/
+import * as d3 from '../../third_party/d3';
+
+const LARGE_NUMBER = 10000;
+const SMALL_NUMBER = 0.001;
+
+const d3LargeFormatter = d3.format('.2~s');
+const d3MiddleFormatter = d3.format('.4~r');
+const d3SmallFormatter = d3.format('.2~e');
+
+export function formatTickNumber(x: number | {valueOf(): number}): string {
+  /**
+   *  Formats very large nubmers using SI notation, very small numbers
+   *  using exponential notation, and mid-sized numbers using their
+   *  natural printout.
+   */
+  if (x === 0) {
+    return '0';
+  }
+  const absNum = Math.abs(x as number);
+  if (absNum >= LARGE_NUMBER) {
+    return d3LargeFormatter(x);
+  }
+  if (absNum < SMALL_NUMBER) {
+    return d3SmallFormatter(x);
+  }
+  return d3MiddleFormatter(x);
+}
diff --git a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter_test.ts b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter_test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3fa4e85698
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/formatter_test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/* Copyright 2020 The TensorFlow Authors. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+==============================================================================*/
+import {formatTickNumber} from './formatter';
+
+describe('histogram/formatter test', () => {
+  describe('formatTickNumber', () => {
+    it('formats small numbers with 4 sig. digits', () => {
+      expect(formatTickNumber(0)).toBe('0');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1)).toBe('1');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1.000000000001)).toBe('1');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(5)).toBe('5');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(-100.4)).toBe('-100.4');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(3.01)).toBe('3.01');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(9999)).toBe('9999');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(0.09)).toBe('0.09');
+    });
+
+    it('formats small numbers in exponential format with 2 sig. digits', () => {
+      expect(formatTickNumber(-0.000050000001)).toBe('-5e-5');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(0.00005)).toBe('5e-5');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(2.3411e-14)).toBe('2.34e-14');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(-2.3411e-14)).toBe('-2.34e-14');
+    });
+
+    it('formats large numbers in SI format with 2 sig. digits', () => {
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1.004e6)).toBe('1M');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(-1.004e6)).toBe('-1M');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1.004e13)).toBe('10T');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(-1.004e13)).toBe('-10T');
+    });
+
+    it('fails to format large number with many decimals nicely', () => {
+      // This causes TensorBoard to format axis in less than ideal when spread of a
+      // viewBox is miniscule compared to the number. e.g., you see axis that says,
+      // "1G", "1G", "1G" which is quite meaningless. It will be addressed in the future.
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1e9 + 0.00000001)).toBe('1G');
+      expect(formatTickNumber(1e9 - 0.00000001)).toBe('1G');
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/histogram_component.ts b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/histogram_component.ts
index 1c7a4a9455..5508083d3e 100644
--- a/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/histogram_component.ts
+++ b/tensorboard/webapp/widgets/histogram/histogram_component.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import {takeUntil} from 'rxjs/operators';
 import * as d3 from '../../third_party/d3';
 import {HCLColor} from '../../third_party/d3';
 import {TimeSelection} from '../card_fob/card_fob_types';
+import {formatTickNumber} from './formatter';
 import {
   Bin,
   HistogramData,
@@ -113,8 +114,9 @@ export class HistogramComponent implements AfterViewInit, OnChanges, OnDestroy {
     contentClientRect: {height: 0, width: 0},
   };
   scales: Scales | null = null;
+
   private formatters = {
-    binNumber: d3.format('.3~s'),
+    binNumber: formatTickNumber,
     count: d3.format('.3n'),
     // DefinitelyTyped is incorrect that the `timeFormat` only takes `Date` as
     // an input. Better type it for downstream types.