Whampoa Military Academy, which was presided by Chiang Kai-shek, was tasked with the objective of training a professional Chinese revolutionary army (革命軍人) to unify China during the Warlord Era.

After 1949, the ROC Army has participated in combat operations on Kinmen and the Dachen Archipelago against the PLA in the Battle of Kuningtou, and in the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.

Following the lifting of martial law in 1987 and the democratization of the 1990s, the mission of the ROC Army has been shifted to the defense of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu from a PLA invasion.

In January 2021 the 33rd Chemical Warfare Group was deployed to Taoyuan City to deal with a cluster of infections around a hospital there.

[15] From the 1990s onwards, the Republic of China Army launched several upgrade programmes to replace outdated equipment with more advanced weapons, also increasing its emphasis on forces that could be rapidly deployed and were suited for combat in Taiwan's heavily urbanized environment.

Orders were placed with the United States for M60A3 Patton tanks, M109A5 "Paladin" howitzers and AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters, as well as updating existing equipment.

[18] In July 2007 it was reported that the ROC Army would request the purchase of 30 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters from the US in the 2008 defence budget.

[19] In October 2015 it was announced that 9 AH-64E had been grounded due to oxidation of components in the helicopters' tail rotor gearboxes and comprehensive safety checks were made on all Apaches.

[23] However, in July 2018 the Ministry of National Defense renewed its interest in acquiring Abrams, and had set aside US$990 million to purchase 108 M1A2s while modernization of existing M60A3s in service continues.

[25][26] On July 8, 2019, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of new M1A2T Abrams tanks to Taiwan despite criticism and protest of the deal from the People's Republic of China (PRC).

[32] Some criticisms were made of these M1 Abrams purchases, some analysts expressed that Taiwan's terrain and some of its bridges and roads are unsuitable for the 60-tonne M1A2.

However, Taiwan's current tanks have older 105-millimeter rifled guns that may not be able to readily penetrate the frontal armor of modern People's Liberation Army (PLA) Type 96 and Type 99 tanks, which can easily penetrate the Patton's old-fashioned steel armor with their smoothbore 125mm ZPT-98 main gun.

[36] Production of a version with a 105-mm assault gun, which is modeled on that of the CM-11 Brave Tiger main battle tank, is also scheduled to be completed by 2023.

On September 23, 2019, former Defense Minister Yen De-fa (嚴德發) confirmed the Republic of China Armed Forces has requested the purchase of M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers from the United States.

On August 4, 2021, the Biden administration approved a potential $750 million sale of 40 M109A6 self-propelled howitzers and other supporting equipment, including up to 1,698 kits for precision-guided munitions.

Testing is underway for long-range rockets capable of being fired by the RT-2000 from Taiwan and reaching inland targets on the Chinese mainland.

[50][51] In 2021, Taiwan purchased 11 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the U.S. to be delivered in 2024, along with the first batch of M1A2T Abrams tanks.