Hebei University is located in Baoding City, a famous historical and cultural city of China. It is a key comprehensive university listed directly under the Ministry of Education and jointly constructed with the National Bureau of Defense, Science, Technology and Industry and the Ministry, Bureau and Province of Hebei Provincial People's Government. It is a member of the National Alliance of Key Construction Universities of "One Province, One School" in the central and Western regions, and a first-class university supported by Hebei Province. The first batch of outstanding legal talents education and training programs, the first batch of national college students'innovation and entrepreneurship training programs, and the first batch of national demonstration universities deepening innovation and entrepreneurship education reform are among the five key universities supported by the central region of China and the first in Hebei Province. The first Yan'an Spiritual Education Base and the first batch of Social Work Professional Training Bases of the Ministry of Civil Affairs have graduate schools and postgraduate qualifications recommended for exemption from examinations.
Hebei University was founded in 1921 and first named Tianjin University of Industry and Commerce; renamed Tianjin College of Industry and Commerce in 1933; renamed Jingu University in 1948; in 1951, the Central People's Government accepted Jingu University and changed it into a national one; in 1952, the Institute of Technology and the School of Finance and Economics of Jingu University were merged into Tianjin University and Nankai University respectively, and on the basis of the former Normal College, Tianjin Normal College was established at its original site. In 1958, it was expanded to Tianjin Normal University, which was later identified as one of the five key universities in the whole province. In 1960, it was rebuilt as a comprehensive university and named Hebei University. In 1970, the school moved from Tianjin to Baoding City, Hebei Province.
As of November 2018, the school covers an area of 2 430 mu, with its own, new and medical campuses covering an area of 1.33 million square meters, 23 secondary colleges, 3 278 faculty members, 6 100 full-time doctoral and postgraduate students, and about 26 900 full-time undergraduates.