Formerly known as Tianjin Institute of Technology, the university's history dates back to 1979, when it began admitting undergraduate students as the Science and Engineering Branch of Tianjin University. Tianjin Institute of Technology was officially established in 1981 with the approval of the State Council. In 1996, the former Tianjin Institute of Technology merged with three undergraduate institutions—the Tianjin University Branch Campus, the Tianjin University Mechanical and Electrical Branch Campus, and the Tianjin University Metallurgy Branch Campus—to form the new Tianjin Institute of Technology. With the approval of the Ministry of Education, it was renamed Tianjin University of Technology in 2004.

In 2025, the university successfully obtained approval for the interdisciplinary doctoral program in "Low-Altitude Technology and Engineering", and to have its Nature Index ranking enter the global top 200.