The school was originally the Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Normal School established by Guangdong Province in 1954 and the Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Normal College established in 1958. It has undergone several mergers, adjustments and name changes. In 1993, Hainan Tongshi Normal College and Hainan Tongshi Education College were merged to form Qiongzhou University (undergraduate). In 2006, it was upgraded to a university and renamed Qiongzhou University.