The College of Foreign Studies at Guangxi Normal University has a long and distinguished history and a rich academic tradition. Its origins can be traced back to the Department of English at Guangxi Provincial Guilin Normal College, which was established in 1942 and was the first university-level foreign language department founded in Guangxi. Following a series of institutional reorganizations and name changes, the College of Foreign Studies was formally established under its present name in 2001.

The collegehas benefited from the contributions of many distinguished scholars and educators over the decades. Renowned scholar Chen Hansheng served as its first head. Professor Lü Congmin, former Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, was appointed Honorary Dean.A large number of distinguished experts and scholars, including He Xianglin, Li Yixie, and Ma Baozhi, also taught here for many years, advancing knowledge and education and carrying forward the academic tradition from one generation to the next.

For more than eight decades, the college has remained committed to the spirit of its motto, Noble virtue, global vision. Guided by this principle, the college has devoted itself to teaching and scholarship and has educated tens of thousands of highly qualified foreign language professionals for the country.

The collegebegan offering postgraduate education in 1979,making it one of the three earliest disciplines at Guangxi Normal University to admit postgraduate students. In 1984, it was authorized to confer Master's degrees in English Language and Literature, becoming the first foreign language Master's program in Guangxi. In 2009 and 2010, the collegewas successively authorized to offer the Master of Education in English Teaching and Master of Translation and Interpreting. In 2011, it was granted authorization to confer Master's degree in Foreign Language and Literature (first-level discipline).

English Language and Literature has been designated as a key discipline at the autonomous region level, while Foreign Language and Literature has been listed as a development project for cultivatinga first-level doctoral degree program in Guangxi. The college currentlyhas 8 doctoral supervisors, 4 of whom also serve as doctoral supervisors at overseas universities, and 61 master's supervisors.

The college hosts a number of research platforms, including the Institute of Foreign Language and Literature, Center for Korean Studies, Center for Japanese Studies, Center for Teacher Education Development, and Research Center for Comparative Studies and Exchanges between Guangxi Opera and Western Drama.

In recent years, faculty members have undertaken more than 200 research and teaching reform projects at or above the provincial level, including 23 projects funded by the National Social Science Fund, and 4 projects for the Overseas Translation of Chinese Academic Classics (1 key project, 3 general projects), marking a breakthrough for Guangxi in this area.

The college has published more than 100 academic books and over 80 research papers in SSCI-, CSSCI-, and other Chinese core-indexed journals. It has received 10 awards at the autonomous region level for outstanding social science achievements, teaching achievements, and excellent textbooks.

Currently, the collegeoffers six undergraduate programs: English (Teacher Education), Business English, Translation, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. In 2025, a micro-major in Language Intelligence Application was added. The collegehas one National First-Class Undergraduate Program(English),two Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region First-Class Undergraduate Programs(Korean and Translation); and two Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Advantageous Undergraduate Programs (EnglishandKorean).

The collegeboasts three national-level first-class courses, with four additionalcourses recognized as autonomous region-level first-class courses. It is also home to an autonomous region-level Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, an autonomous region-level Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Business English, and a Guangxi High School English Curriculum Reform Base. 

 In 2007, the college was approved as a Demonstration Site for College English Teaching Reform by the Ministry of Education. It has since made remarkable achievements in the development of MOOCs for College English and in smart education and teaching reform. Building on the Smart Education Cloud Platform, the college has established an innovative five-dimensional smart education system.

The courses College English and English for College Students’ Entrepreneurship have been recognized as national first-class undergraduate courses. The university’s achievements in College English teaching reform won first prize for teaching achievements in higher education at the autonomous-region level and were selected as a candidate project for the national teaching achievement awards.

The collegecurrently has 160 full-time faculty members, including 18 professors, 49 associate professors, and 75 membersholding doctoral degrees (including 19 pursuing their doctoral degrees), and 12 international experts.

It boasts a group of renowned experts and scholars with profound academic accomplishments, including 2 recipients of provincial/ministerial level talent titles, 3 selected for provincial/ministerial level talent support programs, and 15 selected for talent support programs at or above the departmental level. There are 7 recipients of university-level talent titles and 1 university-level teaching master. One faculty member serves on the Ministry of Education's English Professional Teaching Steering Committee, another serves on the Korean/Korean Language Expert Committee for the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Examination, 1 as a vice-chairman of the Guangxi Higher Education English Teaching Steering Committee, 6 as members of the Guangxi Basic Education Teaching Steering Committee, and 1 as an expert in Guangxi Basic Education Quality Monitoring. It also has 2 autonomous region-level outstanding teaching teams (Teaching Team for Professional Development of Basic Education English Teachers, University English Team).

The college is committed to serving the local economic and social development of Guangxi. As a base for Guangxi's high school English curriculum reform, it continues to play a leading and exemplary role in foreign language teacher education across the autonomous region. By implementing multiple national and autonomous region-level training programs for primary and secondary school foreign language teachers, the collegehas further advanced practical reforms in foreign language education at the basic education level in Guangxi.

The collegehas also actively contributed to major international and foreign affairs events, including the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and the UNWTO/PATA International Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook, receiving positive social recognition and feedback.

The collegeactively builds platforms for industry-academia-research integration in foreign affairs,having successively established teaching and practice bases with the Guangxi Foreign Affairs Office, CCPIT, local foreign affairs offices, and foreign-related service enterprises to cultivate high-quality, interdisciplinary foreign language professionals. It is also committed to the international dissemination of Guangxi's local culture, having compiled and published a series of books showcasing Guangxi's history and culture, such as Guilin's Past, Guilin's Anti-Japanese War Culture and the Footprints of Foreigners, and Folk Culture of Guangxi's Ethnic Minorities.