East China University of science and technology, formerly known as East China Institute of chemical engineering, was merged and formed by the chemical engineering departments of Jiaotong University (Shanghai), Zhendan University (Shanghai), Datong University (Shanghai), Soochow University (Suzhou), Jiangnan University (Wuxi) and other universities in 1952. It is the first institution of higher learning in New China famous for its chemical characteristics. In 1956, it was designated as one of the first batch of graduate schools in the country. Since 1960, it has been identified as a national key university directly under the Ministry of education by the CPC Central Committee. In 1993, it was renamed East China University of science and technology with the approval of the State Education Commission. In 1996, it entered the national "211 Project" key construction ranks. In 2000, it was approved by the Ministry of education to establish a graduate school. In 2008, it was approved to build a "985 advantageous discipline innovation platform", In 2017, it was selected as a national "double first-class" world-class discipline construction university, and three disciplines, chemistry, material science and engineering, and chemical engineering and technology, were selected into the list of first-class discipline construction.

The school has three campuses, Xuhui, Fengxian and Jinshan, covering a total area of 2535 mu, with a total construction area of 970000 square meters, and a total library collection of 3.26 million books. There are national measurement certification units such as analysis and testing center and jewelry testing center. The school has won the honorary title of "civilized unit (Campus)" in Shanghai for 12 consecutive times. In the QS World University ranking list, it ranks 33rd among universities in mainland China; In the times higher education (the) world university ranking, it ranks 51st in mainland China; In the USNEWS world university ranking list, it ranks 50th among universities in mainland China; It ranks 30th in the comprehensive ranking of ESI Chinese universities.

The school has 16 colleges, and the disciplines cover 11 disciplines, including science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, management, literature, law, art, philosophy, education and so on. Currently, there are 73 undergraduate enrollment majors (including 9 majors in Sino foreign cooperation in running schools and 1 major in the second bachelor's degree); There are 31 first-class discipline master's degree authorization points and 17 master's professional degree authorization points; There are 18 first-class discipline doctoral degree authorization points and 4 doctoral professional degree authorization points; There are 14 post doctoral research mobile stations. It has 8 national key disciplines, 10 Shanghai key disciplines, and 7 first-class disciplines in Shanghai universities. "Chemical engineering and technology" is the first major in Colleges and universities in Chinese Mainland to pass the abet certification. Chemistry is the first major in Colleges and universities in Chinese Mainland to pass the China Russia joint international science major certification. All majors of the business school have passed the business education certification of the International Association of elite business schools (AACSB). Chemistry, materials science, engineering, biology and biochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, agricultural science, computer science, environmental science and ecology have entered the world's top 1% of ESI, and chemistry has entered the world's top 1 ‰.

The school has more than 27000 full-time students, including 16789 undergraduate students, 8647 master's students and 1905 doctoral students. At present, there are more than 3100 teaching staff, including 8 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 4 double employed academicians, 1 academician of the European Academy of Sciences, and more than 110 national talents such as winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; It has 3 national famous teachers, 4 national teaching teams and 1 Huang Danian style teacher team; There are 9 high-level innovation teams including the innovation research group of the NSFC and the innovation team in key fields of the Ministry of science and technology, and a large number of young and middle-aged scholars are emerging.

The school adheres to the socialist direction of running a school, comprehensively implements the fundamental task of Building Morality and cultivating people, and trains socialist builders and successors with all-round development of morality, intelligence, physique, art and labor. It has 2 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 2 National virtual simulation experimental teaching centers, and 4 Shanghai experimental teaching demonstration centers; There are 12 national specialties, 15 national first-class undergraduate specialty construction sites, and 3 Shanghai first-class undergraduate specialty construction sites; There are 5 national engineering practice education centers. It was rated as a national university with typical experience in graduate employment and a national model university for deepening innovation and entrepreneurship education reform. In QS' global ranking of graduates' employment competitiveness, it ranks 16th among colleges and universities in the mainland. Since its establishment, the school has trained 360000 graduates for the country, all over the world. Among the alumni, 28 were elected academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of engineering, and 10 were elected overseas academicians. A large number of graduates have become the backbone of Party and government organs, enterprises and institutions.

Facing the major national needs, the school aims at the international scientific frontier, insists on writing papers on the land of the motherland, and continues to improve the school's ability to serve economic and social development. It has 2 national key laboratories, 1 National Engineering Laboratory, 3 National Engineering (Technology) research centers, 1 Frontier Science Center of the Ministry of education, 1 Basic Science Center of the NSFC, 32 provincial and ministerial key scientific research bases, and 5 provincial and ministerial humanities and Social Sciences think tanks (bases). It has achieved a large number of major innovative achievements and has more than 2000 valid patents at home and abroad. It has a National University Science Park, which is one of the first six universities in the country to establish a national technology transfer center. It has been selected into the national intellectual property information service center of colleges and universities, the scientific and technological achievements transformation and technology transfer base of colleges and universities, and the national intellectual property demonstration colleges and universities. The large-scale industrialization and application of a number of industry commonalities and key technologies have produced significant economic and social benefits.

The university has built a multi-level and all-round international cooperation and exchange system, and has established long-term cooperative relations with more than 200 universities and scientific research institutions in Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Japan and other countries, including Oxford University. Aiming at the forefront of international discipline development, it has been approved 10 discipline innovation and talent introduction bases under the "111 plan" of the Ministry of science and technology. It cooperates with foreign top scientific research resources to carry out joint training of high-level talents and joint scientific research, and has established the joint research center for Feringa Nobel Prize winning scientists and the Oliver Hart contract and Governance Research Center. It was approved as the first batch of innovative practice bases for high-level international talent training by the Ministry of education. It has established a Sino French cooperative school institution, the International Institute of excellence engineers, the world's first Confucius Institute for scientific and technological innovation in the UK, and the first "China Europe International Business School in sibeu, East China University of technology" jointly built by China and Romania.