Abstract: Since the establishment of People's Republic of China, Chinese higher education for international students has obtained great achievements, which can be divided into four different historical periods. From a historical perspective, the main causes that decide the developing direction of Chinese higher education for international students are the system transition and renovation, and the circumstance changes caused by such transition. The problems of the exiting higher education system are the obscurity of understanding on the developing strategy and the imbalance of the system itself. We should elaborate the positive function of compulsory transition of system to promote the development of abroad consummation market of higher education. Furthermore, we should perfect relevant systems to realize the healthy development of Chinese higher education for international students.