The Central University for Nationalities is situated in Haidian District, where there are many schools in Beijing. The national libraries in the South and Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park in the north are located. The campus environment is elegant, simple and beautiful, and the humanistic atmosphere is strong. It has distinct national characteristics.

The predecessor of the Central University for Nationalities was the National College founded by the Communist Party of China in Yan'an in September 1941. In June 1951, the Central Institute for Nationalities was officially established in Beijing, with Ulanf as its first president. In November 1993, it was renamed the Central University for Nationalities. Zhang Jingze, the current Secretary of the Party Committee of the school, and Huang Taiyan, the principal of the school.

All previous leading collectives of the Party and the state have always been concerned about and attached great importance to the construction and development of the Central University for Nationalities. From the beginning of the school's founding to 1966, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other party and state leaders met with representatives of teachers and students 14 times. After the reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping met with representatives of teachers and students three times. In 1993, when the school was renamed the Central University for Nationalities, Comrade Jiang Zemin, President of the State, inscribed a new name for the school. In June 2001, on the occasion of the school's 50th anniversary, Premier Zhu Rongji of the State Council visited the school and, on behalf of the central government, put forward the goal of "building the Central University for Nationalities into a world-class university for nationalities". In the same year, the leaders of Hu Jintao and Li Lanqing personally examined and approved the "Request for further running the Central University for Nationalities" jointly reported by the National People's Committee, the Ministry of Education, the National Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance. In June 2002, the State People's Committee, the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal People's Government signed the Agreement on Key Joint Construction of the Central University for Nationalities. Under the great attention of the Party and the state, the school was approved as a national key university in 1978. In its later development, it has successively entered the ranks of "211 Project", "985 Project" and "first-class university, first-class discipline" state key construction universities.

At the beginning of the school's establishment, a group of famous scholars, such as Pan Guangdan, Wu Wenzao, Fei Xiaotong, Weng Dujian, Wu Zelin, Feng Jiasheng, Yang Chengzhi, Lin Yaohua, Fu Lehuan, Yu Daoquan, Wenyi, Ma Xueliang and Wang Zhonghan, became the important founders of the school's teaching, scientific research and discipline construction. The total number of staff is 1893, of which 1196 are full-time teachers, 678 are professors and associate professors, accounting for 57% of the total number of full-time teachers. Among them are Dai Qingxia, Mou Zhongjian, Hu Zhenhua, Shi Zhengyi, Liu Bingjiang, Ma Yue, Mi Ruru, Li Kuizheng, Yang Shengmin, Jin Bingyong, Xue Dayuan and other well-known experts and scholars, as well as a number of emerging young and middle-aged novices, which have gradually become outstanding in the academic circles. In addition, the school employs more than 130 foreign experts to teach every year. At present, the school has three specially appointed professors in the "Yangtze River Scholars Award Scheme" of the Ministry of Education, one young scholar in the "Yangtze River Scholars Award Scheme" of the Ministry of Education, 12 candidates in the "National Millions of Talents Project", 56 candidates in the "New Century Excellent Talents Support Plan" of the Ministry of Education, and 11 outstanding experts contributed by the National People's Committee. There are 2 famous teachers at the national level, 16 famous teachers in Beijing and 113 special allowances from the Government of the State Council. The school has established exchanges and cooperation with more than 150 universities and scientific research institutions in 35 countries and regions. Every year, a number of famous scholars who have important influence in related disciplines come to visit the school for lectures and exchanges.

The school has 24 colleges, covering 64 undergraduate majors, 5 doctoral degree authorization points for first-level disciplines, 5 post-doctoral research mobile stations, 26 master degree authorization points for first-level disciplines, 3 national key disciplines, 5 provincial and ministerial key disciplines, 13 second-level key disciplines, 1 provincial and ministerial cross-key disciplines, 2 National Humanities basic disciplines personnel training and scientific research. Base, one key research base of Humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, six key research bases of Humanities and social sciences of the National People's Committee, one key laboratory jointly built by the National People's Committee and the Ministry of Education, one key research base of the National Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education, one key engineering center of Beijing, one national experimental teaching demonstration center and five experimental teaching demonstration centers of Beijing.

The school recruits students from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. There are 16858 full-time students, including 11283 undergraduates, 4708 master's and doctoral students, 184 minority preparatory students (our school); among undergraduates (including preparatory students), the proportion of minority students is 50%. The school is a "Chinese Government Scholarship" receiving school for overseas students, with nearly 700 students from more than 50 countries studying in the school. Since its establishment, the school has sent more than 100,000 graduates of all nationalities to the country. Among them, there are nearly 1,000 well-known experts and scholars, nearly 100 leading cadres at provincial and ministerial levels, nearly 1,000 leading cadres at prefectural and departmental levels, and more than 10,000 leading cadres at county and departmental levels. They have made outstanding contributions to the cause of national unity and development in different posts. The Central University for Nationalities has become the cradle of training outstanding talents of ethnic minorities and an example of national unity.

The school now covers an area of 380,000 square meters, and a new campus is planned to cover an area of 810,000 square meters. The construction area of the campus is 592,000 square meters, and the teaching and administrative rooms are more than 200,000 square meters. The total assets are 3.4 billion yuan. It has more than 4.3 million books and electronic books of all kinds. The collection of books and documents of Ethnology and Chinese minority languages and literature ranks first in domestic universities. School Publishing House is the publishing base of textbooks and works of national minority disciplines. Journal of Central University for Nationalities and Research on Ethnic Education are the core journals of the whole country. The Museum of Nationalities has more than 30,000 precious national cultural relics, which has become a base for students'patriotism education and teaching practice.

At present, the whole school's teachers and students hold high the great banner of Xi Jinping's socialist thought with Chinese characteristics in the new era, carry out the spirit of the Nineteenth National Congress of the Party in depth, keep in mind the original intention, remember the mission, serve the national strategy and the cause of national unity and progress, serve the development of ethnic minorities and ethnic areas, determine the "three-step" stage goal of school development, implement quality school-building and strong talent. Five strategies, namely, developing schools with distinctive characteristics, strengthening schools by management and opening up schools, are to promote the construction of world-class universities with distinctive characteristics with the spirit of reform and innovation and courage to overcome difficulties.