Xinjiang University originated from Xinjiang College of Russian language, Political Science and Law in 1924.

In1935, The College was reorganized and renamed as Xinjiang College. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was presided over one after another by the well-known Communists Yu Xiusong, Lin Jilu and the prominent patriotic democrat Du Zhongyuan. Under the guidance of Marxism, they modeled the College after the Military and Political University of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Yan’an （commonly known as Yan’an Kangda）; they adopted educational policies “Chinese nation in form, Marxist in content”, and “teaching and practice as one”, and set down the motto for XJU: Unity, Concentration, Modesty, Vitality.

In 1978, Xinjiang University was appointed by the State Council as one of the first 88 key institutions of higher education and one of 16 comprehensive key universities. In 1997, the university was selected into the first list of “project 211” universities. In 2004, it became a university jointly built by the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and the Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 2012, the university was listed in the “Comprehensive Capacities Promotion Project for Universities in the Central and Western Regions”. In 2017, it entered the first round of“Double First-Class Universities Plan”. In 2018, it was appointed to the co-construction by the Ministry of Education of PRC and the People’s Government of XUAR.