The Central Agricultural University (CAU) was established in year 1993. It was set by an act of Parliament, the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992 (No.40 of 1992).

The University became functional with the joining of first Vice-Chancellor on 13th September, 1993. The jurisdiction of the University extends to seven North-Eastern Hill States viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura, with headquarters at Imphal in Manipur.

The university has established different constituent colleges, namely:

• College of Agriculture (Imphal, Manipur - 1993),
• College of Fisheries (Agartala, Tripura - 1998),
• College of Home Science (Tura, Meghalaya - 2004),
• College of Horticulture & Forestry (Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh - 2001),
• College of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry (Aizawl, Mizoram - 1998),
• College of Agricultural Engineering and Post Harvest Technology (Gangtok, Sikkim - 2006),
• College of Post-Graduate Studies (Umiam, Meghalaya - 2006).
• College of Food Technology (Lamphelpat, Manipur - 2015)
• College of Agriculture (Kyrdemkulai, Meghalaya - 2015)
• College of Agriculture (Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh - 2015)
• College of Horticulture (Bermiok, Sikkim - 2015)
• College of Horticultue (Thenzawl, Mizoram - 2015)
• College of Vetenary Science and Animal Husbandry (Jalukie, Nagaland - 2016)