Northwest University was founded in Shaanxi University Hall in 1902, and was called Northwest University in 19 12. 1923 changed its name to National Northwest University in August. 1937 After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the National Peiping University, the National Peiping Normal University and the National Beiyang Institute of Technology moved to Shaanxi to form the National xi 'an Temporary University. 1938 was renamed the National Northwest United University, and in August 1939 it was renamed the National Northwest University.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, Northwest University was one of the 14 comprehensive universities directly under the Central Ministry of Education, 1958 was in charge of Shaanxi Province, and 1978 was identified as a national key university. At present, it is the national key construction institution of "2 1 1 project" and the key support institution for the development of the western region. The school has three campuses: North Campus, Taoyuan Campus and South Campus, covering a total area of more than 2,360 mu. Now there are 25 departments and 69 undergraduate majors.