The Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was set up in October 1958 and was formally established in August 1959. It was called the Shanghai atomic and nuclear Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the national approval of the 6 period of 2003 was established as the present name. The Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences focuses on photonic science, nuclear science and technology and related interdisciplinary research, and at the same time promotes the industrialization of scientific research achievements.

By the end of 2014, all two major parks of Applied Physics in Shanghai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were located in Shanghai science and technology satellite city Jiading District and Zhangjiang hi tech park of Pudong, with a total area of about 700 mu. There were 1162 employees in the Research Institute, including 1005 scientific and technical personnel, 1 national science centers, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There are 4 laboratories and 1 key laboratories in Shanghai. There are 402 graduate students, including 195 master students and 207 doctoral students.