Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) began as a business program at the Nanjing Higher Normal School in 1917. Yang Xingfo, a well-known social activist and patriotic democrat, was appointed as program director. In 1921, as part of the plan to establish the National Southeast University based on Nanjing Higher Normal School, the business program was restructured and transferred to Shanghai, where it established Shanghai University of Commerce under National Southeast University. This university was the first commercial university in China's history of education. Guo Bingwen, a renowned educator, acted as president, and Ma Yinchu, a well-known economist, was the provost.

In1932, the university split and became known as the National Shanghai College of Commerce, the only national undergraduate business school in China at the time. In 1950, the university was renamed as the Shanghai College of Finance and Economics, and in 1985, it was renamed as Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. In 2000, the university became subordinate to the Ministry of Education and it is now jointly developed by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government.

After generations of hard work and unremitting efforts, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics has become a multi-disciplinary key university that focuses on finance and economics and maintains coordinated development in economics, management, law, arts and science. The university covers an area of about 136 acres (826 mu) and consists of three campuses, with the main campus at No. 777 Guoding Road.

SUFE has consistently ranked in the top 1% globally in four ESI fields: Economics & Business, Social Sciences, Engineering, and Environment/Ecology. In the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject, Economics & Econometrics ranked 123rd globally, and Accounting & Finance was in the 151-200 range. In the 2024 U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings by Subject, Economics & Business ranked 52nd globally. In the 2024 ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, Finance ranked 43rd globally, Public Administration was in the 76-100 range, Economics was in the 101-150 range, and Management and Statistics were in the 151-200 range. In the 2024 ShanghaiRanking's China University Ranking—Special Ranking for Finance and Economics Universities, SUFE ranked first.