Guizhou University (GZU) was founded in 1902 as Guizhou Institute of Higher Learning and has undergone several name changes over the years, including Provincial Guizhou University, National Guizhou College of Agriculture and Engineering, and National Guizhou University. The University officially adopted the name Guizhou University in October 1950, which was formally inscribed by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1951. In August 1997, GZU merged with Guizhou Agricultural College and other institutions. Then, in August 2004, it merged with Guizhou University of Technology.  GZU has a rich history of 120 years and has achieved significant milestones. It is one of the national 211 Project universities and is included in the national Double First-Class Initiative. GZU is also recognized as an institution of higher learning developed through ministerial-provincial cooperation between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the provincial government. GZU is dedicated to fostering moral education and has received several accolades, including being recognized as a Model University among the first batch of universities for nationwide CPC development in higher education institutions, awarded National Civilized Campus in the first nationwide competition, and designated as a Trial University for implementing reforms on Three Comprehensive Educational Approaches (whole-person education, whole-process education, and all-round education) under the MOE.    

GZU covers an area of 309.17 hectares and includes 65.69 hectares of farmland for teaching and experiments. Its library boasts a collection of over 3.78 million paper documents, including more than 3.66 million electronic copies. It offers a wide range of courses across 12 major disciplines, including literature, history, philosophy, science, engineering, agronomy, medicine, economics, management, law, education, and art. GZU has 40 colleges and serves over 34,000 full-time undergraduate students and over 13,000 graduate students. It has a faculty of over 4,200 members, with over 2,700 full-time teachers, 56.11% of whom hold doctoral degrees.

GZU has one discipline selected for China's Double First Class Initiative, one national-level key discipline, two discipline teams affiliated with universities through provincial-ministerial collaborations tailored to the needs of local industries, nine national first-class disciplines, and seven regional first-class disciplines. According to the latest ESI data, GZU has six disciplines among the global top 1%. Moreover, there are 84 first-class majors under the Double Ten Thousand Plan, of which 52 are at the national level. The University offers 19 first-level discipline doctoral programs, one professional doctoral degree program, 52 first-level master's degree programs, and 24 professional master's degree programs. 

GZU boasts two academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, one academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, 22 leading talents of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 41 national-level young talents recognized by the National Renowned Cultural Specialists & the Four Batches of Talents Program under the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, and one coordinator for the Discipline Appraisal Group of the State Council's Academic Degree Appraisal Committee. GZU's faculty hold many prominent positions, including 25 members of the National Advisory Committee on Higher Education, three members of the Science and Technology Commission (STC), and ten Excellent Scientific and Technological Talents in the New Century. Many faculty members also hold instrumental jobs in Guizhou, including 21 I-level experts and 64 II-level experts. GZU boasts a significant number of faculty members who have received special recognition, including seven teachers hailed as Young Elites, 159 scholars appointed to develop first-class disciplines in special areas, and one distinguished professor named Xi Shan Scholar. GZU's faculty have been active in publication, with one member ranked as one of the Highly Cited Researchers in the world for six consecutive years, and three on the shortlist of Elsevier China Highly Cited Scholars. 

GZU has established one State Key Laboratory and one Ministerial-Provincial State Key Laboratory, along with 20 ministerial-level and 56 provincial-level research platforms. The University is also renowned for its teaching excellence, with 30 national teaching platforms and two national teaching teams. GZU has been recognized for its efforts in promoting ideological and political education in the classroom, with two renowned teachers, two outstanding teaching teams, and one workshop credited by the MOE for providing excellent demonstration classes on ideological and political theory courses. GZU is well recognized across the province for its outstanding teaching and research achievements, with 11 teams and 44 teachers considered outstanding for teaching, 14 teachers together with teaching teams considered excellent in demonstrating ideological and political classes, two workshops recognized as outstanding in presenting ideological and political theories in the classroom, and nine bases for research on humanities and social sciences for demonstration purposes. 

GZU is committed to the four tasks of blazing a new path in the large-scale development of the western region in the new era, starting a new chapter in rural vitalization, seizing new opportunities in the implementation of digital economic strategies, and making new achievements in ecological conservation. The University is also dedicated to achieving the four modernizations - new industrialization, new urbanization, agricultural modernization, and tourism industrialization. With these goals in mind, GZU promotes distinct disciplines and focuses research on Guizhou. The University's green prevention and control team, which researches green pesticides and pest control operations, was awarded the honorary title of National Advanced Poverty-alleviation Group, and the CPC Committee of the College of Agriculture was honored as a National Advanced Grassroots Party Organization. Additionally, GZU has received awards from the Ministry of Education for presenting typical cases on delivering poverty-alleviation projects and rural revitalization efforts for four consecutive years. 

Thanks to the counterpart support program, GZU has established partnerships with Zhejiang University, China Agricultural University, and East China Normal University. The University is committed to advancing higher education in Guizhou through active engagement and has developed collaborative partnerships with nine municipal cities (prefectures) across the province. GZU has signed agreements with over 500 enterprises, including Maotai Group, Dabeinong Group, National Astronomical Observatories, Guangxi Tianyuan Biochemistry Co. Ltd., Guizhou Phosphate Chemical Group, Guizhou Branch of China Tobacco Corporation, Guiyang Agricultural Investment Group, and Jiangsu Fengshan Group. The University has also been providing scientific and technological support through initiatives such as Three Areas' Science and Technology Talents, Technician Plan of Science, Ph.D Village Leader, 111 Ph.D Project, and Professors and Doctoral Scholars Helping Enterprises throughout Guizhou. Additionally, GZU has invested significant efforts in fostering innovative collaborations between universities, regions, academia, and industry. This collaboration has extended to every county across the nine cities (prefectures). 

GZU is dedicated to fostering international exchanges and collaborative education. The University has established partnerships with 195 universities or research institutions across 43 countries and regions. GZU has been recognized as the International Education Aid Base by the Ministry of Education (MOE), International Science & Technology Cooperation Base under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the institution offering the Chinese Government Scholarship as well as the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship. Additionally, GZU has two Confucius Institutes, the first co-founded with the University of the Gambia and later with the Presbyterian College in the United States. The University is also actively involved in international associations such as Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), (ASEAN University Network) AUN, and Eurasia-Pacific Uninet (EPU). Since 2008, GZU has hosted and co-organized China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week along with other related activities for 15 consecutive years. 

Guizhou University has a rich history of promoting virtue through education and is committed to its mission of fostering talented minds. This mission is reflected in the University's motto: Illustrious Virtue, Utmost Goodness, Extensive Learning, and Earnest Practice. Over the years, GZU has worked hard to adapt itself as an institution jointly developed through ministerial-provincial cooperation and fully implement the Double First-Class initiative. GZU aims to cultivate a considerable number of outstanding talented individuals by providing both manpower and intellectual assistance for socioeconomic advancement in Guizhou. The University will continue to play a pivotal role in making China stronger in both sciences and technology.

(Updated till July of 2023)