The Chittagong University is situated on 1,754 acres of beautiful hilly land in mauja Fatehpur under hathazari upazila, 22 km north of chittagong city. It was opened on 18 November 1966. Back in 1962, Mr. Mohammad Ferdaus Khan, Deputy Director of Public Instruction of East Pakistan, prepared a preliminary draft plan of Chittagong University. Prior to that the Chittagong University Movement Council was formed in 1961 with Badshah Mia Chowdhury, a distinguished social welfare worker of Chittagong, as president and professor Ahmad Hossain of Chittagong City College as convenor. Dr. muhammad shahidullah (1885-1969), Dr. muhammad enamul haq (1906-82) and some other intellectuals, educationists, political personalities, and social workers played leading roles in the site selection movement of 1962.

 On 3 December 1965, Professor a r mallick (1918-97), as project Director, inaugurated the work of founding the Chittagong University with only three employees, one typewriter, and a photocopier in a house on Road 3 of Chittagong City's Nasirabad Housing Society. The Chittagong University Ordinance was promulgated on 25 September 1966 and Professor Mallick was given the charge of Vice Chancellor on that very day. He resumed charge as the first Vice Chancellor of the university on 9 October 1966.

The university started its academic programme on 28 November with classes of MA (Preliminary) programme with only 200 students in the departments of Bangla, English, History and Economics under the faculty of Arts. After a short while Medical, Engineering, Law and Education Colleges situated outside the university campus were incorporated as separate faculties, and thus the university's educational activities kept expanding.

Under Arts faculty, the departments of Bangla, History and English were established in 1966, that of Fine Arts in 1970, Philosophy in 1972, Islamic History and Culture, and Oriental Languages in 1974, Arabic and Persian Languages in 1977, and of Journalism in 1994. These departments have programmes of BA (Honours), MA (Preliminary), and MA (Final). Under Science faculty, the departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics were set up in 1968, Statistics in 1970, Zoology and Botany in 1973, Oceanography Institute in 1971, Institute of Forestry in 1976, and the Research Centre for Mathematical and Physical Sciences in 1989 opened by the Nobel Prize winner scientist Professor Abdus Salam. The departments under the Science faculty have programmes of B Sc (Hons), M Sc (preliminary) and M Sc (Final). The Social Science Faculty was founded in 1971. Under this faculty the departments of Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Public Administration and Anthropology started in 1966, 1968, 1970, 1980, and 1997 respectively. Departments under this faculty conduct BSS (Honours), MSS (Preliminary) and MSS (Final) programmes. The Commerce faculty was established in 1971. Departments of this faculty conduct BBA (Honours) and MBA programmes. The department of Law under the faculty of Law was established in 1992.

All the faculties publish a research journal of the common title The Chittagong University Studies (now renamed Chittagong University Journal) distinguished by the name of the individual faculty suffixed to it. Chittagong University Journal of Arts, Chittagong University Journal of Social Science, Chittagong University Journal of Business and Chittagong University Journal of Law come out once or twice a year.