The College of Literature and Journalism of Sichuan University has a long history. In the early times, Sichuan University set up several colleges such as the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, and the College of Agriculture. Many academics such as Xiang Chu and Zhu Guangqian, once served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Liu Dajie, Pan Zhonggui and Yang Mingzhao and other renowned scholars acted as the head of the Department of Chinese Language. In the 1950s, the college and its departments were adjusted, the College of Liberal Arts was divided into the Department of Chinese Language, the Department of Foreign Languages, and the Department of History, etc. In 1994, the College of Liberal Arts was restored and the Department of Chinese Language and the Department of History were included. In 1998, another adjustment was made. The former Department of Chinese Language of the College of Liberal Arts and the former College of Literature merged into the College of Literature and Journalism of Sichuan University. In 2013, the college became one of the first ten journalism colleges jointly built by the Ministry of Education and local publicity departments, and it’s also known as the College of Journalism of Sichuan University.Currently, Professor Gu Lifeng takes office as the CPC Secretary-general of the School, and Professor Li Yi，the dean of the School. At the same time, Ms.Zhang Ying is the deputy Secretary-general of CPC of the School, and Professor Hu Yirong ，Zhou Weidong and Cao Hui are associate deans of the School.

The College of Literature and Journalism of Sichuan University has the strongest ability in liberal arts teaching and scientific research in Sichuan University. In a move to build a high-level research college and cultivate high-level talents, it has formed an operating pattern based on undergraduate education, with a focus on postgraduate cultivation and scientific research, complete with other forms of education. There are three first-level disciplines such as Chinese language and literature, journalism and communication, and art theory. Among them, Chinese language and literature is a national key first-level discipline, and has a national talent cultivation and scientific research base for basic disciplines of liberal arts.

Through the hard work of generations of the teaching faculty, the college has made great achievements in talent cultivation, scientific research and discipline construction. A considerable number of its doctoral students have become candidates of the Changjiang Scholars Award Program, and the "Ten-thousand Talents Plan” and the “National Talents Project”, many of whom have won the National Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award and Nomination Award. The college has become a leading academic institution in theoretical talent cultivation and scientific research for Chinese language and literature, journalism and communication as well as art theory in China.

In 2017, Sichuan University was included into the list of perspective world-class universities with world-class disciplines, and a priority would be given to 12 first-class disciplines (clusters). The discipline cluster of “Chinese Language and Literature and Global Communication of Chinese Culture”, with two first-level disciplines of Chinese language and literature, journalism and communication as major disciplines. The future development of disciplines of the college will closely focus on the first-class construction plan of the discipline cluster of "Chinese Language and Literature and Global Communication of Chinese Culture". On the basis of consolidating and perfecting existing disciplines, we will strive to build world-class disciplines in the context of constructing a three-dimensional communication system of Chinese culture in the process of globalization. By the middle of this century, the discipline cluster of "Chinese Language and Literature and Globalization of Chinese Culture" will be built into an international academic platform with style of Sichuan University and Chinese characteristics.