Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine was founded in 1924 as the Guangdong College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1956, it was approved by the State Council to establish Guangzhou College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, becoming one of the first four higher education institutions for traditional Chinese medicine in New China. In 1995, it was renamed Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. Originally under the direct administration of the Ministry of Health, it was transferred to the management of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government in 2000. In 2017, it was selected as a national "Double First-Class" discipline construction university, and in 2018, it was upgraded to a key construction university for high-level universities in Guangdong Province. In 2020, it became a co-construction unit of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, the Ministry of Education, and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The university adheres to the comprehensive leadership of the Party, maintains the socialist direction of running schools, and insists on the principal responsibility system under the leadership of the Party Committee. It is loyal to the Party's education cause, implements the fundamental task of cultivating virtue and fostering people, and upholds the school motto of "Cultivating Virtue and Broad Learning, Sincerely Benefiting the World" and the university spirit of "Upholding Virtue and Ambition, Harmonious and Inclusive, Drawing from the Past and Seeking Innovation, Diligent Learning and Professionalism," to cultivate socialist builders and successors with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor.

Currently, there are two campuses: Sanyuanli and University Town, covering an area of 1,355 acres, with a construction area of over 780,000 square meters. There are 1,608 full-time teachers, including 503 with senior professional titles and 513 with associate senior professional titles, along with a group of renowned experts and professors represented by Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine Xuan Guowei and Zhou Daihan. The university has 15 secondary colleges; in 2021, there were 21 enrollment majors, and there are 27 majors with enrolled students. Among them, there are seven national-level first-class professional construction points in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Pharmacy, Acupuncture and Tuina, Clinical Medicine of Traditional and Western Medicine, Pharmacy, Chinese Medicine Resources and Development, and Rehabilitation Therapy, as well as six provincial-level first-class professional construction points in Nursing, Computer Science and Technology, Applied Psychology, Public Administration, Biotechnology, and Physical Education. There are seven first-level disciplines in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, Chinese Pharmacy, Clinical Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Basic Medicine, two second-level disciplines in Social Medicine and Health Service Management, and three professional degree categories (fields) for master's degrees in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Pharmacy, and Nursing; there are three first-level disciplines in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, and Chinese Pharmacy, and one professional degree category (field) for doctoral degrees in Traditional Chinese Medicine; there are three postdoctoral research stations in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, and Chinese Pharmacy. The university has one national "Double First-Class" construction discipline; six key construction disciplines for high-level universities in Guangdong Province; 25 key disciplines in Traditional Chinese Medicine by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; and two disciplines in Clinical Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology that rank in the top 1% globally in ESI. The university is one of the first batch of universities designated by the Ministry of Education to implement the "Excellent Doctor (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Education and Training Program Reform Pilot" and to undertake the "Top Innovative Talent Model Reform Pilot Project in Traditional Chinese Medicine," and it was selected as one of the second batch of national demonstration universities for deepening innovation and entrepreneurship education reform. "Emphasizing Classics and Strengthening Clinical Practice" is the most distinctive feature of the university's undergraduate education. Degree and graduate education began in 1978, making it one of the first universities in the country to obtain the right to confer doctoral and master's degrees, with the scale and quality of degree and graduate education ranking among the top in similar institutions nationwide. The university has produced many outstanding alumni, including Professor Liu Liang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, with alumni spread across the globe. The university's research work is characterized by distinct features and advantages. The "Clinical and Experimental Research on Spleen Deficiency and Myasthenia Gravis" won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 1992; the "Series of Research on Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment of Spleen Deficiency" won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2000, and its landmark achievement, "Research on the Inheritance and Innovation of Spleen Deficiency Theory and Its Application," was selected for the "Collection of Major Theoretical Inheritance and Innovation in Traditional Chinese Medicine" in 2016; the "Clinical Research on the Treatment of Femoral Head Necrosis with Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine" won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2000. The university participated as a major member unit in the national "523" malaria prevention and control project, clinically confirming the anti-malarial efficacy of artemisinin, making significant contributions to the invention of artemisinin.

Professor Li Guoqiao's research team has successively won the National Science Conference Award, the National Technology Invention Second Prize, and the National Science and Technology Progress Second Prize. Professor Xu Nenggui's team's project "Theoretical Innovation and Clinical Application of Acupuncture Treatment for Ischemic Stroke" won the National Science and Technology Progress Second Prize in 2019. The university focuses on building key platforms such as the International Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Translational Medicine Research, South China Acupuncture Research Center, Public Service Platform for Innovative Chinese Medicine R&D, Basic Research Center for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, Lingnan Medical Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Guangdong Branch of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences), and Technology Innovation Center (Sanyuanli Campus), with 57 research platforms at the provincial and ministerial levels or above. The university has been cooperating with Southeast Asian and African countries to carry out anti-malarial research. It has sent a complete medical team to Ghana to carry out medical assistance tasks. It undertakes the Ministry of Commerce's technical assistance project for the Comoros anti-malarial center, the technical assistance project for malaria prevention and control in São Tomé and Príncipe, and the construction project of the malaria prevention and control center in Papua New Guinea, where the Comoros achieved its first zero malaria deaths in history. The university's plan for the universal administration of compound artemisinin to eliminate the source of infection has been included in the "Malaria Universal Administration - On-Site Implementation Manual," contributing the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine to accelerate the global malaria prevention and control process. The university, based on its own advantages, actively participates in the construction of a strong province in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It currently has four directly affiliated hospitals, four hospitals co-built with the government, and a suitable number of non-directly affiliated hospitals. The first and second affiliated hospitals were selected for the "Peak Plan" for the construction of high-level hospitals in Guangdong Province. The first affiliated hospital became one of the first pilot units for the innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment models and the second batch of "National Clinical Research Base Construction Units for Traditional Chinese Medicine," being one of the hospitals with the most regional Traditional Chinese Medicine (specialty) diagnosis and treatment centers in the country; the second affiliated hospital ranks first in the "Top 100 Competitiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals in China" and has been rated as a "National Civilized Unit"; the third affiliated hospital is the only tertiary first-class orthopedic specialty hospital in Guangdong Province, with Traditional Chinese Medicine orthopedics as its leading specialty. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, the university's affiliated hospital, as the leading unit of the expert group for Traditional Chinese Medicine in the fight against SARS organized by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, advocated for early intervention of Traditional Chinese Medicine, achieving outstanding clinical results recognized by experts from the World Health Organization. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, experts from our university participated as members of the expert group for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic organized by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, fully involved in formulating the first to seventh editions of the diagnosis and treatment plans by the National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The university's directly affiliated hospitals sent 112 medical staff to support Hubei; experts were sent as the leaders of the Chinese government's medical expert group to Malaysia to assist in epidemic prevention and control.

The university actively promotes collaborative innovation and serves the local economy. It has established industry-university-research cooperation relationships with 15 cities inside and outside the province, helping farmers achieve precise poverty alleviation and promoting rural revitalization in mountainous areas. The series of traditional Chinese medicine products developed by the university, such as Wei Nai An, Gu Xian Pian, Xiao Ke Wan, Jin Fo Zhi Tong Wan, Zi Shen Yu Tai Wan, and He Wei Zhi Tong Jiao Nang, have become core products of Guangdong pharmaceutical companies and are sold nationwide. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the university vigorously developed technology transfer and technology transfer work, with the contract funds for technology transformation reaching 70 million yuan. It has guided the establishment of 50 standardized planting bases for traditional Chinese medicinal materials featuring "Southern Medicine" in the province, with a planting area of over 2 million acres. The university vigorously explores and promotes traditional Chinese medicine culture, shaping a unique cultural environment in the industry. The Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum built by the university is one of the first national secondary museums among universities in the country, and together with the first and second affiliated hospitals, it has been designated by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine as one of the first national cultural promotion and education bases for traditional Chinese medicine, becoming an important window for spreading traditional Chinese medicine culture in Guangdong. The university fully leverages its geographical and cultural advantages to actively serve the national "Belt and Road" initiative and the development strategy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since 1974, it has been enrolling international students and has trained more than 20,000 senior talents in traditional Chinese medicine from over 110 countries and regions, jointly establishing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Alliance with universities in Hong Kong and Macao, and setting up seven overseas centers for traditional Chinese medicine and three international cooperation bases in multiple countries and regions. The university and its affiliated hospitals have established joint laboratories and research bases with internationally renowned universities, cooperated to offer distinctive brand courses, conducted exchange student programs, and deeply engaged in collaborative research in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, jointly establishing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Traditional Chinese Medicine Innovation Center and setting up a joint research base for traditional Chinese medicine with Karolinska Institute in Sweden.