In 1920, under the initiative of Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovskyi, the Ukrainian Cooperative Institute was established.

Starting in the 1960s, the Institute opened branches and subsidiaries in several regions of the Ukrainian SSR (including Kyiv, Odesa and other large cities).

On September 17, 2010, DonNUET signed the Great Charter of Universities in Bologna (Italy), which provides members the mutual exchange of information and documentation and an increase in the number of joint projects.

University trains specialists for trade and services and for other areas of the economy.

In 2014, DonNUET moved its operations from Donetsk to Krivyi Rih to avoid the disruption caused by the Russo-Ukrainian War.