Hebei University was one of the first universities to provide overseas student education in China. In 1965, Hebei University recruited more than 100 Vietnamese students and was one of the 23 universities in China that undertook Chinese language training program for Vietnamese students. After the reform and opening up, Hebei University resumed its enrollment of foreign students. In 2003, the College of International Exchange and Education was established, and it consists of a common affair office, an International Students Management Division and a Teaching Management Division. Over the past 50 years, the number of international students has been expanding, and international student training has extended from language  to a degree- education system covering bachelor's, master's and doctor's degree for more than 40 majors, and over 3500 international students from more than 90 countries and regions have studied and lived in the university.

In 2009, the school was approved as a training institution for Master's Degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages, and was qualified to enroll Confucius Institute Scholarship students. In 2010, it became the first university that is qualified to accept Chinese Government Scholarship students in Hebei Province. In the same year, it was approved by Hanban as a HSK test center. In 2010 and 2011, it established two Confucius Institutes in Brazil and the United States. In 2013, the university became the head unit of Hebei Province Overseas Education Research Organization. In 2014, it won the title of National Outstanding University for Overseas Student Education. In 2016, it became the only Chinese education base of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office in Hebei Province. In 2017, Hebei University became the first institution that passed the National Education Quality Certification for Colleges and Universities to Study in China in Hebei Province.

The college has more than 30 teachers (full-time/part-time), most of whom have overseas teaching or research experiences. Based on the different levels and characteristics of international students in the university, it had set up courses such as Chinese reading, Chinese listening, Chinese writing, general situation of China, HSK analysis, as well as taijiquan, folk song and dance, speech and debate, calligraphy and so on. The university attaches great importance to the construction of teaching facilities for international students, and has built multimedia network classroom, micro-classroom, HSK network exam classroom and Chinese culture experience classroom.

In an effort to learn the Chinese language and professional knowledge, at the same time, international students enjoy campus life, for example, they have established the Wushu team, calligraphy community, debate club and have taken an active part in many kinds of cultural activities. Our international students have won prizes both in Chinese martial arts competition and Chinese debate competition, which has become a highlight of our foreign student education and has fully displayed the elegant demeanor of the overseas students of Hebei University.