With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, it became the Department of Water Resources, Nanjing University.

The main campus, covering 45 hectares (111 acres), is located at the northern foot of Qingliang Hill in Nanjing.

A secondary campus was established in February 1986 in Changzhou, a city between Shanghai and Nanjing.

Hohai Cooperation and Development Committee was founded in December 2001 in response to the needs for economic construction and social development, to deepen the strength and extent of higher education serving economic construction, and to expand the channels of social participation in running a school.

The 120 unit commissioners are from many enterprises and institutions of the government at all levels, such as departments of water conservancy, electrical power, traffic, environmental protection, education, finance, and army.

Hohai, with its international exchange and cooperation arrangements, was one of the first universities entitled by the State Council to confer the degrees of Doctor, Master and Bachelor upon overseas students.