The Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University was founded in 1992. It includes the Institute of Polymer Science founded in 1990 originated from the section of polymer chemistry of the Department of Chemistry (1958-1990) and the Institute of Polymer Composites founded in 2000, established mainly based on former Lab of Polymer and Composites at Zhejiang University established in 1992 and former Institute of Polymer Science and Materials of former Hangzhou University established in 1993. It is one of the earliest academic and research units devoted to Polymer Science in China, and also one of the earliest State-established units that are entitled to granting degrees of Master and Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Physics and Material Science (1984) as well as providing postdoctoral posts.

The program of Polymer Chemistry and Physics in the Department was approved as one of the Key programs in Zhejiang Province in 2001. The corresponding program was listed as one of the Key programs under construction of Zhejiang University in 1996. In 2005, the Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization was established under the approval of the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education approved our department as a post for the special hired Professor of the Changjiang Scholars Programs in 1989.

Under leadership of Professor Zhi-Quan Shen and Prof. Jia-Chong Shen, academician of the Academia Sinica, the 48 faculty members, including 20 full professors, 20 associate professors and senior engineers, are now working in education and scientific research of Coordination polymerization by rare-earth and transition metal catalysts, Organic and polymeric photo-electronic functional materials, biomedical polymer, polymer membranes and polymer physics and rheology. In general, the research groups in the Department receive research fund of 10 million Yuan annually and publish 200 academic papers each year. About 60 college student, 40 Master students and 20 PhD students are enrolled in the department each year.