Originally established in 1947 during the French Indochina era, the institution began as a medical school affiliated with the University of Saigon. Founded by French settlers and led by Professor C. Macias, the school was located at 28 Testard/Tran Quy Cap Street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (now Bo Van Thanh Street). On August 31, 1961, under the Government of the Republic of Vietnam, the institution was officially divided into two separate entities: Saigon Medical University and Saigon Pharmacy University. Later, in 1964, Saigon Dental College was formed as a department within the Faculty of Medicine.
Following the Vietnam War, in 1976, the Communist Party of Vietnam consolidated all three institutions and renamed them Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. The first headquarters included a two-story administrative building equipped with a library, a lecture hall, and three adjoining residential quarters for students.
Training facilities for foundational sciences and basic medical subjects were located throughout Ho Chi Minh City. These included the Pasteur Institute for parasitology and microbiology, the Human Research Institute for anatomy, and Saigon Hospital for chemistry studies. The Human Body Institute also provided specialized facilities for courses such as histology, physiology, pathology, and anatomy. By 1961, both medical and pharmacy students were actively training at these sites, with the Faculty of Pharmacy later relocating to Nam Kiko Igia Street.
On November 16, 1966, the institution shifted to a well-equipped medical training center on Hong Bang Street in District 5. This campus, where medical and dental students continue to study today, features a 500-seat main auditorium, three 300-seat lecture halls, a library, and modern laboratory facilities.
