The School of Physics and Electronic Science was established in July 2019, and its predecessor was the Department of Physics of East China Normal University.

The Department of Physics was founded in September 1951, and is one of the earliest established departments of East China Normal University. At the beginning, the faculties in Physics Department mainly came from the Department of Mathematics & Physics of Daxia University and that of Guanghua University. After National Adjustment of Colleges and Universities in 1952, a dozen faculties from Datong University, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and St. John's University joined in this Department of Physics. Since 1952, the enrollment of undergraduate and junior college students has started. At the end of 1952, the physics department had 114 students and 30 faculty members.

From 1951-1957, the Department of Physics reformed continuously the education system and innovate teaching content and teaching methods. From 1958 to 1965, the Department of Physics continued to strengthen education reforms and continuously improve the level of teaching and scientific research. From 1960, the Department of Physics was awarded as the 'Shanghai Advanced Collective' at the Shanghai Commendation Conference. At the end of 1960, there were nearly 200 faculty members and 900 students in the department.

In 1979, the university reformed the architecture in order to meet the needs of the country, and then some teachers in the Department of Physics and some teachers in the department of mathematics jointly formed the Department of Computer Science. In 1983, the university established the Institute of e-Education on basis of some faculty memebers in the Department of Physics. In 1984, the university established The Department of Electronics on basis of 82 teachers from the Department of Physics. In 1989, 10 teachers in the Department of Physics and some teachers in the Department of Chemistry have jointly established Center of Analysis and Measurements. In 1995, with the approval of the State Commission of Education, the Department of Physics opened a major in optoelectronics for undergraduates.

In 1996, as the university entered the ranks of '211 Project' and '985 Project', the Department of Physics developed rapidly, and the optics discipline entered the 'Ninth Five-Year Plan' and '211 Project' key discipline. In 1999, the Center of Analysis and Measurements joined in the Department of Physics. In 2003, the Department of Physics established the Physics Experimental Teaching Center, which was approved as the Shanghai Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center in 2007.

In 2001, the Department of Physics established the “Key Laboratory of Optical and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Ministry of Education”. In 2007, this laboratory is authorized to be a state key laboratory with the name of “State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy” by the Ministry of Science & Technology. In 2009, the State Key Laboratory of Precision passed the evaluation of Ministry of Science & Technology.

In 2002, the Department of Physics established the Nanotech Center (Applied Research Center of Nanofunctional Materials and Devices)  and in 2006 this center entered the list of Engineering Research Centers of the Ministry of Education in 2006, renamed as 'Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education '.

In 2005, the Department of Physics established the 'Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging', which was renamed the 'Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance' in 2008.

In 2007, the establishment of Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices was approved by Ministry of Education in December 2007, and officially passed the acceptance into the list of “Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education” in March 2011, and passed the evaluation of Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education in November 2011.

In February 2016, the university established the School of Physics and Materials Science on the basis of the Department of Physics and the State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy.

On July 6, 2019, the university established the School of Physics and Electronics on the basis of the School of Physics and Materials Science, the Department of Electronics and the Department of Optoelectronics Science and Engineering. The School of Physics and Materials Science was renamed School of Physics and Electronic Science.