Chuo was founded as the English Law School (英吉利法律学校, Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō) in 1885 at Kanda in Tokyo by Rokuichiro Masujima together with some group of 18 young lawyers led by him.

The curriculum was changed to reflect the government reform of Japanese law and creation of a new civil code.

[4] Opposition to the implementation of new civil code resulted in the government shuttering of the campus journal and the subsequent creation of the Chuo Law Review (Hōgaku Shinpō), which has been regularly published since then.

[4] The university was burnt down in the Great Kanda Fire that occurred in 1892, but was able to hold temporary classes.

However, many founders of the university were once students of the Middle Temple, London, United Kingdom before they completed their training and became qualified as Barristers.

This is one of the reasons why the university was renamed to "Chuo", which literally means middle, center or central.

The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake again reduced the campus to rubble and it was rebuilt and relocated at Kanda-Surugadai in 1926.

After World War II, Chuo University started a series of reformations along with a new School Education Act of 1947.

For celebrating its 100th anniversary, in 1988, Chuo University built the Surugadai Memorial Hall which is a seven-story building.

(via Kasuga-dori Avenue) This, the main campus, is a short walk from the Chūō-Daigaku-Meisei-Daigaku Station of the Tama Monorail, easily reachable from the JR Chūō, Keiō or Odakyū line.

[6] It was established as the first research institute for comparative legal studies in Japan and East Asia.

It is very famous[citation needed] for its large collection of material on Japanese corporations or business entities.

The research undertaken by the institute is primarily collaborative, and involves study of cultural sciences in their broadest sense.

This institute was founded in 1948, for researching practice and theory of corporate accounting, tax, and legislation and/or regulation on business entities.

Combining cryptographic technologies and other social engineering methods including legal studies, Chuo contributed to society[vague] on this matter.

In 2012, an additional international exchange residence with 94 all-in-one private rooms was opened to further the internationalization efforts.