The university traces its origins to the White Deer Cave Academy on Mount Lushan and was formally established in 1940 as National Chung Cheng University. In 1949, it was renamed Nanchang University, and in 1953, it became Jiangxi Normal College. It was renamed Jiangxi Normal University in 1983. It is the oldest ordinary higher education institution offering degree programs in Jiangxi Province. In 2003, Jiangxi Worker's University of Finance (Jiangxi Banking School) was fully integrated into the university.