Nanchang University was established in 1940 in the name of its original predecessor ─ Zhongzheng University. In the following years, the name was changed several times and its present name Nanchang University was adopted in 1993 when the top two universities of Jiangxi Province Jiangxi University and Jiangxi Industrial University merged to make up the backbone of Nanchang University.
NCU entered a new era of development when it merged with Jiangxi Medical College in August 2005 making it a comprehensive university, offering undergraduate and graduate courses encompassing virtually all academic disciplines.