Founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1924, Sun Yat-sen University was reputed as "the top university in south China", consisting of disciplines in Liberal Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine and Business, etc.

Lingnan (University) College of Sun Yat-sen University was named after Lingnan University, which was first founded in Guangzhou in 1888. By 1930s, Lingnan University had enjoyed prestigious reputation both at home and abroad, with academic links with many famous universities worldwide. In 1952, as a result of the reorganization of all the universities in China, departments of Lingnan University were incorporated into Sun Yat-sen University and other universities. In December 1987, Lingnan ( University) College of Sun Yat-sen University was established with the approval of the Ministry of Education of China.

To be a leading business school with international recognition, Lingnan (University) College has constantly dedicated to developing higher education in Theoretical Economics, Applied Economics and Business Management. In business management education, Lingnan(University) College has developed extensive cooperation with prestigious business schools all around the world-with MIT Sloan School of Management on International MBA Program in 1999, with Carlson School of Management of University of Minnesota on Chinese EMBA (CHEMBA) Program in 2001, with University of California at Berkeley on Healthcare EMBA (h-EMBA) Program in 2003 and with EM-LYON and Lyon 3 on a French diploma of international commerce (DESS) program. These partnerships provide enormous education resources for Lingnan (University) College's business education.