Its history can be traced back to the original Huazhong Institute of Technology established in Wuhan in 1952, the Shanghai German Medical School (predecessor of Tongji University) founded by German physician Dr. Erich Paulun in 1907, and the original Central South School of Architecture and Engineering established in Mount Lu, Jiangxi province in the 1950s.

[3] In 1958, the institute expanded its scope by introducing programmes in basic and applied sciences, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

When Zhu Jiusi returned to the campus in 1970, he found the university largely abandoned and occupied by local farmers.

That same year, Zhu Jiusi presented a report at a national meeting emphasising the dual importance of universities as centres for both research and teaching.

[3] Since the 1990s, the university has spearheaded the establishment of a state laboratory in opto-electronics, which later evolved into the Optics Valley, a prominent high-tech development zone near its campus.