Yangtze University is a university with a profound history dating back to 1936. In 2003, it was formed by the merger of four universities, achieving integrated development. For 89 years, YU has become the largest and most comprehensive university in Hubei Province, with the widest range of disciplines. It has been selected on the list of National Education Power Promotion Project, Hubei Province's High-level Universities under Key constructions Project, and Hubei Province's Domestic First-Class University Construction Project. It is also a university jointly built by the Hubei Provincial People's Government, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petroleum&Chemical Corporation, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and the Hubei Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

YU is named after the Yangtze River, the largest river in China. The main campus of the school is located in Jingzhou City, a historical and cultural city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, and it also has a Wuhan campus covering an area of 341.2 hectares. YU currently has more than 3,000 faculty members, including over 34,000 undergraduate students, nearly 8,000 master's and doctoral students, and over 700 international students. Since its establishment, the school has trained over 500,000 specialized talents for the world.

YU is an authorized unit for doctoral degrees, with 5 first-level disciplines including Geology, Geological Resources and Geological Engineering, Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Crop Science, and Plant Protection; 38 first-level discipline master's degree authorization points and 24 master's professional degree authorization categories; 65 undergraduate enrollment majors (categories).

YU has formed distinct characteristics in petroleum, agriculture, teacher education, and medicine. 8 disciplines, including engineering, botany and zoology, agricultural science, earth science, clinical medicine, chemistry, environment and ecology, pharmacology and toxicology, have entered the top 1% of ESI global rankings.

YU adheres to open education and has established substantial cooperative relationships with more than 120 foreign universities and institutions. It is a Chinese member university of the China-Africa University Cooperation Program and has joined 16 international university alliances, including the China-Africa University Alliance. YU is the implementing unit of the CSC International Cooperation Training Program for Innovative Talents, and has gained the Qualification to Recruit  CSC International Students in China. YU also has HSK  examination centers, and successfully passed the Higher Education Quality Certification for International Students Studying in China in 2023. YU students come from 86 countries across 5 continents, including the United States, France, Canada, Russia, Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil, Morocco, Pakistan, Nepal, Ghana, and Mozambique.