The church's early medieval origins were confirmed during restoration work in 1936-1937, when workers replacing the chancel floor uncovered well-preserved foundation walls from an apse and a triumphal arch, evidence of the building's original form. By the early nineteenth century the church, along with those at Skölvene and Norra Säm, was reported to be in poor condition, and authorities proposed combining the parishes into a single new church while closing the others. This plan was only partly carried through: Skölvene and Norra Säm churches were joined together, but Hov's parishioners successfully argued to keep their own church, pledging to fund its restoration themselves.
That restoration was completed in 1843, giving the church its present three-sided chancel. The work widened the chancel, replaced the roof and floor, lowered the gallery, raised the floor level, enlarged the sacristy and inserted taller windows. A further restoration took place in 1936-1937, when the interior and pews were refurbished, and the most recent renovation noted is from 1995. The building has no tower, relying instead on a freestanding bell frame dating from 1765.
The font is of sandstone and is generally dated to around 1200, one of the oldest furnishings in the church; it was used for a time as a support beneath the pulpit before being moved to its current position in 1911. The pulpit itself, carved with figures of Christ's disciples, was brought from the neighbouring church at Norra Säm when that building was demolished, arriving in Hov during the 1936-1937 restoration.
The church has two altarpieces of note. The older, painted in 1876 by Anders Gustaf Ljungström and depicting the Resurrection of Christ, was moved to the south wall of the nave when it was replaced. The current altarpiece, showing the Eight Beatitudes, was painted by Marianne Nordström in 1971. Also of interest is a grave slab commemorating Baron Johan Schenk, dated 1671 and decorated with a male figure, angels and a coat of arms, originally kept in the sacristy and now set against the church's north wall.