The troupe was set up in 1950 and was the first artistic performance group established after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Initiated by Premier Zhou Enlai, the troupe was formed by a group of veteran acrobats from across China. They gathered in Beijing to form the precursor to what would become the China National Acrobatic Troupe. The first mission assigned to the then newly established troupe was to perform in the Soviet Union in October 1950.

In 1957, the troupe's artist, Jin Yeqin, earned China's first gold medal in acrobatics at an international level at a world youth festival in Moscow, with his performance in "bicycle skills", marking a significant milestone for Chinese acrobatics globally.