In 1906, the Northern and Southern Baptists of the United States built the University of Shanghai (also known as Hujiang University) in Shanghai.

In 1907, Dr. Erich Paulun, a German physician, set up the German Medical School for the Chinese in Shanghai, to which engineering education was added in 1912. The two origins of USST commenced roughly at the same time.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the national government regained its control of the universities established and/or run by foreigners, after which the University of Shanghai had been headed by Chinese presidents and fully integrated into the Chinese education system. In the original site of the German Medical and Engineering School for the Chinese in Shanghai, a school of industry and commerce was co-founded by the Chinese and French governments, which was eventually named Institut Franco-Chinois d'Industrie et de Commerce.

In 1937, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese war, the Chinese people faced a national crisis. The teachers and students of University of Shanghai and Institut Franco-Chinois d' Industrie et de Commerce took an active part in the national salvation movement. The eight years of turmoil saw the continuation and development of the education of the two scHools.

In April 1938, Dr. Herman C.E. Liu, the president of the University of Shanghai and a vanguard of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement.died for the country and the education of its people after being murdered by Japanese spy agents. His unswerving patriotism was an impressivepage in the history of wartime university education.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese war in 1945, the University of Shanghai recovered quickly in terms of its facilities, and actively promoted its academic development and cultural rejuvenation, so that the school was rebuilt at a fast pace. At the same time, the Institut Franco-Chinois d Industrie et de Commerce were ordered to merge with the National Advanced Vocational School of Machinery, which had relocated from Chongqing to Shanghai, establishing the National Advanced Vocational School of Mechanics(Shortened as National Advanced Mechanics).

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Shanghai Industry School, whose focus was engineering, was set up at the former site of the University of Shanghai, to meet the needs of large-scale national reconstruction, especially the needs of heavy industry personnel training The National High Mechanics on Fuxing Road was reorganized into Shanghai Advanced Vocational School of Mechanics( Shortened as Shanghai Advanced Mechanics).

In 1959, Shanghai Industry School was renamed Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Technology. Though there had been quite a few changes to their names in the following years, the two schools were always among the top players of Chinas engineering education, becoming the cradles ofengineering education in new China.

In 1960, in order to meet the needs of the national defense industry, the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Technology was upgraded to the status of industrial university featuring national defense and re-named Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Under the supervision of the First Ministry of Machine Industry, this newly-founded engineering university trained a large number of senior engineering and technical professionals for the country.

After 1978, under the background of reform and opening to the outside world, Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering entered a new period of vigorous development. The pattern of discipline construction evolved from a  few but competitive model to that of high and new. With breakthrough progress in graduate education, the overall strength of the school was significantly enhanced.

In 1994, the school changed its name to East China University of Technology, completing the transition from an engineering university to a multi-disciplinary university centering on engineering education.

In 1996, in accordance with the national strategy of rejuvenating China through science, technology, and education, East China University of Technology merged with Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Technology, which derived from Shanghai National Advanced Mechanics, to form the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. The two institutions, which had been benefiting from the care and support of the Ministry of Machinery Industry and had much connection in their disciplines, finally achieved a complete integration of their strengths. In 1998, the school was assigned in the charge of Shanghai Municipal Government.

At the 100th anniversary in 2006, USST has become a key comprehensive university in Shanghai. With a focus on engineering and a harmonious development of science, management, economics, and arts, it enjoyed a decisive role in Shanghai's higher education.

In 2016, the school held a celebration for the 110 anniversary of the founding of USST. In 2017, USST was ranked among the top-100 Universities in China.

In 2018, USST was put on the list of pilot universities for the local construction of high-level universities, growing into an important force leading the progress of industries and serving the important strategic needs of the region.

In May of 2018, the 8th Congress of the Communist Party of China in the school was held successfully. The Congress has set the three-step development goal. From now on to 2020, it aims to promote the construction of high-level universities in an all-round way From 2020 to 2035, it aims to build an innovative university leading industrial technological progress. From 2035 to the middle of this century, it aims to build a first-class university of science and engineering with remarkable characteristics.