The former Zhongshan University, originally known as Guangdong University, was founded in 1924 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (also known as Sun Zhongshan), a great democratic revolutionary in Chinese history. It was renamed Zhongshan University in 1926 in commemoration of Dr. Sun after his death.

The 1930s saw rapid developments in the University which in 1931 had five Schools (Arts, Law, Science, Agriculture and Medicine). It established the Engineering School in 1934 together with the Graduate School which began to take in graduate students in 1935. The Teachers' College was founded in 1937. During the Anti-Japanese War, the University was forced to move from one place to another, to Luoding in Guangdong, Chengjiang in Yunnan, Pingshi, Dongjiang, and Lianxian County in Guangdong. It was moved back to Shi Pai, Guangzhou in 1945 when the war was over.

In 1952, the University was restructured to conform to the nationwide plans for reorganizing schools and departments. As a result, the Schools of Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine and the Teachers' College were separated from Zhongshan University which was made into a comprehensive university specializing in the liberal arts and sciences. In the same year it moved from Shipai to Kangleyuan, the present Guangzhou Southern Campus.

On September 10, 2000, its Zhuhai Campus was opened in Tangjiawan, Zhuhai, and began its services to education. The establishment of this new campus has greatly expanded the space for teaching and research, laying a solid foundation for the development of the University in the new century.

Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) originated from Boji Medical College founded in 1866, the first medical school to practice and teach western medicine in China. It was in this college in 1886, that Dr. Sun Yat-sen studied medicine and engaged in the Chinese revolution. In 1957 the college changed its name to Zhongshan Medical College in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In 1985 it was upgraded and renamed Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, which then developed into a medical university with several colleges and various educational programs. Remarkable achievements have been made in its scientific research in areas such as medical genetics, ophthalmology, oncology, parasitology, internal nephropathy, organ transplantation, infectious liver diseases, biomedicine engineering and molecular medicine.