Previously the 8th Fighter Regiment of the 3rd Air Division, the unit serves as part of the Eastern Theater Command Air Force, responsible for conflict in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

In June 1950, sixteen months after the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and seven months following the establishment of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), the 4th Composite Air Brigade was established in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

By the end of 1950, the unit had been renamed to the 4th Air Division and headquarters relocated to Shanghai.

[3] In 2017, with the PLA-wide reforms that replaced military regions with theater commands and the PLAAF reforms that disestablished divisions, the 3rd Air Division was reassigned from the Nanjing Military Region Air Force to the Eastern Theater Command Air Force and its subordinate regiments (7th, 8th, and 9th Fighter Regiments) were formed into brigades.

[3][4] Aircraft of the 8th Fighter Brigade operate out of Changxing Air Base with tail numbers 61x9x.