The college has a long history. In 1952, the animal husbandry and veterinary department of the former Sun Yat-sen University, Lingnan University and Guangxi University was merged into the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the South China Agricultural College. In 1987, the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the South China Agricultural University was established and renamed as the Department of Animal Medicine in 1993. The name was changed to the college of veterinary medicine in 2001.