[4] The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College in the early days.

The foundation stone of the current Utkal University campus at Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, on 1 January 1958.

The sprawling 399.9 acre campus at Vani Vihar is located in the heart of Bhubaneswar.

In 2016, Utkal University adopted its theme song from "tunga sikhar chula" (1st 3 stanzas) poem of Godabarish Mishra, one of its founder members.

[7] Baidyanath Misra, the head of the department of Analytical & Applied Economics, instituted two academic chairs, funded by the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India at the university.