The history of Sichuan University dates to 1896, making it the pioneering institution of higher education in modern times in Southwest China.

During the past century, many well-known scholars have served as faculty members, and some State leaders and celebrities have also studied at the university. The list includes Zhu De, one of the founding fathers of People's Republic of China; Yang Shangkun, who served as president of China in the late 1980s; and eminent writers such as Guo Moruo and Ba Jin.

Of the academicians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, more than 50 graduated from Sichuan University.

Sichuan University is now a comprehensive higher education institution that offers courses in a wide range of fields, including literature, science, engineering, medicine, administration, law, history, philosophy, agriculture, education and the arts.

As of 2015, it had more than 5,200 teachers, of whom 15 are academicians at the science and engineering academies. The university now has 37,000 undergraduates, 20,000 postgraduates and 3,000 students from overseas.

Sichuan University has collaborated with more than 210 prestigious universities around the world to nurture talent. It has also worked with universities in South Korea, the United States and Belgium, and set up a total of five Confucius Institutes in those countries.