The politics of Shanghai[1] is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In the last few decades the city has produced many of the country's eventual senior leaders, including Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Wu Bangguo, Huang Ju, Xi Jinping, Yu Zhengsheng, Han Zheng, and Li Qiang.

Since Shanghai is a direct-controlled municipality of China, the Mayor occupies the same level in the order of precedence as provincial governors.

However, in the city's dual party-government governing system, the mayor has less power than the Shanghai Municipal Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary (中国共产党上海市委员会书记, shorten as 中共上海市委书记), colloquially termed the "Shanghai CCP Party Chief" in English.

Prior to the establishment of the office of Mayor of Shanghai, the city's administration was overseen by the circuit intendant ("taotai" / "daotai", 道臺).