The school was founded in 1952 and was then named Beijing Aviation University. In 1959, the school was designated as a national key university by the state and was renamed Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics on April 2, 1988. In 2017, it was selected into the list of "world-class universities".

Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is located in the capital of Beijing City. It is a university directly administered by the central government and ranks among the key universities of the country's "985 Project" and "211 Project". It is a multidisciplinary research university featuring aerospace. It has multiple colleges such as the School of Aviation Science and Engineering, and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.