Xiangtan University is a comprehensive national key university supported by the Ministry of Education and Hunan Province to build high-level universities and characteristic disciplines, and it is a first-class university in Hunan Province.

Xiangtan University was founded in 1958, and was approved by the State Council as a comprehensive national key university in 1978. 198 1 year, the school became the first batch of master's degree authorized units in China. In February 2022, the school was selected as a national "double-class" construction university.