Hebei was one of the earliest developed regions in China. It has taken an important place in Chinese history. After Huang Di were Yao, Shun and Yu, the three most respected rulers in ancient times. Yu the Great founded the Xia Dynasty (21st-16th century B.C.) and divided China into nine states. Hebei is the original area of Ji, the leading state of the nine states. The shortened name of Hebei Province today is still called Ji.

During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.), seven dukedoms were fighting for hegemony. Within the boundary of present-day Hebei Province there was the state of Yan to the north and the state of Zhao to the south. So Hebei has been known as "Yanzhao"too.

Two prefectures, Jizhou and Youzhou, were established in Hebei afterwards .In the 600 to 700 years before A.D. 618 several kinds of administration existed in Hebei. The name of Hebei was formally adopted during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Hebei in Chinese means "North of the River" because the region is located to the north of the Yellow River.

The three dynasties of Yuan, Ming and Qing (1206-1911) all set their national capital in Beijing. In the past 700 years Hebei had the responsibility to protect the national capital. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Hebei was named Zhili, which means "under direct Administration of the Imperial Court". After the founding of the Republic of China (1912-1949), the Kuomintang government set up its capital in Nanjing. The name of Zhili was no more suitable to its status and was changed to Hebei in 1928. The Hebei people's Government was established on August 1, 1949. Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, is 283 kilometers from Beijing.