Zhejiang Wanli University is established by Zhejiang Wanli Education Group and is a provincial undergraduate university with a history of 70 years. In 1999, it was approved by the Ministry of Education of China as a new type of university, namely public university with a new management model and operating mechanism. The university is considered by education experts as "the exemplary practice of modern university system with Chinese characteristics".

Over the past 20 years, the university has grown into an application-oriented university with the coordinated development of multiple disciplines, including literature, economy, management, science, engineering, agriculture, law, and art. It has 13 secondary schools, including business school, logistics and e-commerce school, law school, culture and communication school, foreign language school, design art and architecture school, biology and environment school, big data and software engineering school, information and intelligent engineering school, basic knowledge school, international school, the Sino-German school of design and communication, the school of continuing education, covering 51 undergraduate majors, 2 professional postgraduate education disciplines. There are more than 20,000 full-time undergraduates, graduate students, and international students.

It is a collaboration between schools, government and enterprises, integrating industry, scientific research and education. The university has established 10 industry-specific colleges such as Journalism College, Ningbo Cross-border E-commerce College, Ningbo Intellectual Property College, “Belt and Road” Language College, Ningbo Wanli Neusoft Digital Industry College, Smart Finance College, etc., aiming to cultivate specialized talents, and provide strong support for the industry in terms of scientific research, social services and cultural heritage and innovation, so as to promote the development of regional industries.