In1958,theoriginalMinistryofMachineryIndustry(Electromechanics),MinistryofMachinery(MilitaryIndustry),andMinistryofElectricMachinery(thefirstMinistryofMachineryIndustry)mergedtoformthenewMinistryofMachineryIndustry.
In1960,the"ThirdMinistryofMachineryIndustry"wasspunofffromtheFirstMinistryofMachinery,inchargeoftheaviation,weapons,tanks,radioandshipbuildingindustriesdelineatedbytheFirstMinistryofMachinery.TheFirstMachineryDepartmentisinchargeofcivilianmachinery.
In1980,theMachineryIndustryCommitteeoftheStateCouncilwasestablished,andinthesameyearitwasrenamedtheNationalMachineryIndustryCommittee,whichunifiedleadershipandcentralizedmanagementofthemachineryindustry.
In1982,duringtheinstitutionalreformoftheStateCouncil,theNationalMachineryIndustryCommissionwasabolished,andtheMinistryofMachineryIndustrymergedwiththeMinistryofAgriculturalMachinery,theStateAdministrationofInstrumentationIndustry,andtheStateAdministrationofCompleteMachineryIndustrytoformtheMinistryofMachineryIndustry.
In1988,theMinistryofMachineryandElectronicsIndustrywasestablished.
In1993,theMechatronicsDepartmentwassplitintotheMechanicalDepartmentandtheElectronicsDepartment.
In1998,theNationalPeople’sCongressdeliberatedandapprovedthedecisionontheStateCouncil’sinstitutionalreformplan,whichwascancelledbytheMinistryofMachineryIndustry.
In2008,inaccordancewiththeStateCouncil’sinstitutionalreformplan,theStateCouncilestablishedtheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology("MinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology"),withLiYizhongastheminister.
ThefirstministeroftheMinistryofMachinerywasHuangJing,andsubsequentministerswereZhaoErlu,DuanJunyi,LiShuiqing,ZhouZijian,RaoBin,ZhouJiannan,HeGuangyuan(NationalMachineryIndustryCommission),BaoXuding(NationalGeneralAdministrationofMachineryIndustry,EconomicandTradeCommission).