In January 2011, the Chinese government officially approved the establishment of the National Biobank.

In October of the same year, the Chinese government approved the construction plan for the SMART-NBC, and related projects were included in the National Strategic Emerging Industries Development Special Fund Plan.

The first phase of the SMART-NBC officially opened for operation on September 22, 2016. The first phase of the SMART-NBC has a total construction area of 47,000 square meters and a total investment of 780 million yuan. According to the established goals, the first phase of the National Biobank has completed the construction of two major functional platforms: a bioinformatics database and a biobank.

On March 26, 2025, the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Notice on Optimizing the Operation and Management System of the Shenzhen National Biobank"(Shenzhen Organization and Establishment Commission Document No. 15 [2025]), adjusting the operation and management of the National Biobank to the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation.

On July 1 of the same year, the initial takeover process was completed. To strongly support national strategies such as "Healthy China," and to be based in Shenzhen while radiating across the country, making significant contributions to disease prevention and control and biomedical research in my country and the world, the second phase of the SMART-NBC will comprehensively upgrade its capacity building and open sharing mechanisms to ensure its forward-looking, advanced, and leading development.