西南林业大学是我国西部地区唯一独立设置的林业高校，以林学、林业工程、风景园林学、农林经济管理为传统优势，生物学、环境科学与工程为显著特色，理、工、农、文、法、管等多学科门类协调发展，是国家卓越农林人才教育培养计划、卓越工程师教育培养计划高校、中西部高校基础能力建设工程支持院校。学校办学起源于1938年的云南大学森林系，建校于1958年昆明农林学院。1973年昆明农林学院林学系与南迁昆明的北京林学院合并办学，成立云南林业学院，1978年北京林学院迁回北京办学后，学校变更为云南林学院，直属原国家林业部管理。1983年更名为西南林学院，为林业部直属的6所区域性林业本科院校之一。2000年学校由原国家林业局直属高校调整为中央与地方共建，以省为主管理。2010年更名为西南林业大学。

Southwest Forestry University is the only independently established forestry university in western China. It has traditional advantages in Forestry, Forestry Engineering, Landscape Architecture, and Agricultural and Forestry Economics and Management, with distinctive features in Biology and Environmental Science and Engineering. It develops coordinatedly across multiple disciplines including science, engineering, agriculture, liberal arts, law, and management. It is a university under the National Excellent Agricultural and Forestry Talents Education and Training Program, the Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program, and supported by the Midwest University Basic Capacity Construction Project. The university originated from the Forestry Department of Yunnan University in 1938 and was founded as Kunming Agricultural and Forestry College in 1958. In 1973, the Forestry Department of Kunming Agricultural and Forestry College merged with the Beijing Forestry College, which had relocated to Kunming, to establish Yunnan Forestry College. After Beijing Forestry College moved back to Beijing in 1978, the university was renamed Yunnan Forestry College and directly under the management of the former State Forestry Ministry. In 1983, it was renamed Southwest Forestry College, one of the six regional forestry undergraduate colleges directly under the Ministry of Forestry. In 2000, the university was adjusted from a university directly under the former State Forestry Administration to a joint construction between the central and local governments, mainly managed by the province. In 2010, it was renamed Southwest Forestry University.

学校主动适应经济社会发展需要，不断调整优化学院架构，现设有林学院（亚太林学院）、材料与化学工程学院、园林园艺学院等21个教学单位。现有全日制在校本科生24958人，硕士研究生3798人，博士研究生189人。有在编教职工1273人，全校教师中有正高级职称166人、副高级职称336人，国家、省部级以上人才共249人次。学校是国务院批准的首批硕士学位授予单位，具有博士学位授予权，有4个博士后科研流动站，一级学科博士点4个、一级学科硕士点15个、专业硕士学位点15个，植物与动物科学进入ESI全球排名前1%。

The university actively adapts to the needs of economic and social development and continuously adjusts and optimizes its college structure. Currently, it has 21 teaching units including the College of Forestry (Asia-Pacific Forestry College), the College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, and the College of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. There are 24,958 full-time undergraduate students, 3,798 master students, and 189 doctoral students. There are 1,273 in-service faculty members, including 166 with senior professional titles and 336 with associate senior professional titles, and 249 national and provincial-level talents. The university is one of the first batch of master's degree-granting units approved by the State Council, with the right to grant doctoral degrees. It has 4 post-doctoral research stations, 4 first-level discipline doctoral programs, 15 first-level discipline master programs, and 15 professional master degree programs. Plant and Animal Science has entered the top 1% of ESI global rankings.