The institution was founded as Guangdong Institute for Nationalities, with Comrade Luo Ming, a veteran revolutionary, serving as its first President.

Commenced undergraduate enrollment and becameamong the first higher education institutions in China authorized to confer bachelor's degrees.

In 1998, it transformed into a vocational and technical teacher-training institution, becoming the only independently established institution of its kind in China dedicated to training teachers for vocational education. In 2002, it was renamed Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University.

Authorized by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council in 2006 to confer master's degrees, the university commenced its postgraduate enrollment in 2007.

In 2002 and 2005, the former Guangdong Provincial Mechanical School, the former Guangdong Institute of Economic Management, and the Guangdong Institute of Finance and Trade Management were successively incorporated into the institution. In 2018, it assumed its current name, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University.

Today, GPNU is accelerating its digital transformation drive. With unwavering commitment from all faculty and students, the university strives to attain doctoral program accreditation by 2026.

Aiming to become a high-caliber polytechnic normal university that is
rooted in the Greater Bay Area,
serving the nation,
and extending its reach globally.