The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Zhongshan Hospital was established in 1986 under the leadership of Dr. Li-Ben Jiang (application in 1986, approved on February 20, 1987, formally established in 1988), making it one of the earliest hospitals in China to establish a rehabilitation medicine department.

In October 1991, following a notice from the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau regarding the establishment of pilot programs for rehabilitation medicine departments in four municipal comprehensive hospitals, the hospital leadership, with their support, devised an implementation plan, thus laying the foundation for the establishment of the Rehabilitation Medical Research Center. The Rehabilitation Medical Research Center consists of three components: Functional Examination Department, Outpatient and Inpatient Services (inpatient services were initiated in 1993), and Comprehensive Treatment Department.

On October 13, 1992, the first outpatient rehabilitation medicine department in Shanghai was established. In 1992, designated physicians were dispatched to provide medical care to patients in the Tianma Mountain Branch Rehabilitation Medicine Department. The department head conducted weekly ward rounds and offered treatment guidance.

On March 1, 1993, Shanghai Institute of Rehabilitation with Integrated Western and Chinese Traditional Medicine was established, which merged the Departments of Physical Therapy and Tuina (Chinese massage). It was officially inaugurated on April 15, 1994. In November 1993, the Clinical Medical College of Zhongshan Hospital established the Rehabilitation Medicine Teaching and Research Office.

Shanghai Institute of Rehabilitation with Integrated Western and Chinese Traditional Medicine (hereinafter referred to as the Rehabilitation Research Institute) focuses on trauma rehabilitation and centers its research on the rehabilitation of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. It is the first technical rehabilitation medical research institution in China with a primary focus on medical rehabilitation. The institute comprises the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the Department of Exercise and Physical Therapy, the Functional Assessment and Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, and the Experimental Research Laboratory. It has also established specialized outpatient clinics such as Cervical Spondylosis Rehabilitation Clinic, Lower Back and Leg Pain and Orthopedic Trauma Rehabilitation Clinic, Geriatric Musculoskeletal Disease Rehabilitation Clinic, among others. The hospital's main campus is equipped with comprehensive rehabilitation wards that primarily admit patients with acute and chronic surgical trauma, limb and joint functional impairments, spinal cord and spinal cord injuries, and post-stroke hemiplegia. It offers both surgical and non-surgical treatments.

On March 10, 1994, the Rehabilitation Research Institute was named Shanghai Red Cross Rehabilitation Institute. On April 22, 1994, the institute applied to be listed as the National Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Rehabilitation Medicine Academic Center for the nervous and musculoskeletal system.

On May 5, 1995, the Rehabilitation Research Institute was confirmed by department of State Medical Administration of T.C.M.P.R.C as a National Combined Chinese and Western Medicine Rehabilitation Center.

In 2001, the Rehabilitation Medicine Laboratory was established (the first batch of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Level 1 Laboratories).

On January 2, 2003, a medical cooperation relationship was established with Shanghai Donghai Senior Nursing Hospital to create the Zhongshan-Donghai Rehabilitation Treatment Center.

On March 20, 2004, in response to the hospital's development needs, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine shifted its focus from inpatient treatment to outpatient care.

In March 2005, with the arrangement of the Zhongshan Hospital Outpatient Department, a simplified outpatient clinic was established. There was a significant increase in the volume of patients seen in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, especially in specialized outpatient clinics. These included clinics for osteoporosis, spinal cord injury rehabilitation psychology and social work, spinal cord injury occupational therapy, aphasia treatment speech therapy, post-stroke sequelae functional prediction and rehabilitation, neck, shoulder, lower back, and leg pain, and spinal diseases. In clinical work, there is an emphasis on the team's role in rehabilitation treatment, creating a relatively complete rehabilitation treatment system that includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physiotherapy.

On January 25, 2011, the Rehabilitation Research Institute was restructured. Building on the foundation of Zhongshan Hospital, it entered into comprehensive cooperation with the Rehabilitation Medicine Departments of Shanghai Xuhui Hospital, Shanghai Hudong Hospital, and Shanghai Donghai Senior Nursing Hospital  to establish three rehabilitation treatment sub-centers. This established a three-tier rehabilitation medical system, with the main campus focusing on acute phase rehabilitation, Shanghai Xuhui Hospital and Shanghai Hudong Hospital concentrating on sub-acute phase rehabilitation, and Shanghai Donghai Senior Nursing Hospital  providing recovery phase rehabilitation.

In 2015, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Zhongshan Hospital established a medical cooperation relationship with the Fenglin Subdistrict Community Health Service Center of Xuhui District. A senior doctor conducted expert outpatient consultations and ward rounds for half a day.

On April 25, 2017, the hospital decided to reestablish the Rehabilitation Medicine Department's inpatient services, and the hyperbaric oxygen treatment room was integrated (the Rehabilitation Medicine Department's inpatient services officially commenced on January 8, 2018). In December 2017, the Rehabilitation Medicine Department's outpatient clinic began a renovation project, expanding it from the original 600 square meters to 1,108 square meters. This not only significantly improved the diagnostic and treatment environment but also updated and added rehabilitation treatment equipment (the outpatient clinic relocation was completed in April 2018). In 2017, the department successfully applied for the Rehabilitation Professional Group qualification for drug clinical trials.

In December 2018, the department successfully applied to become the standardized training base for resident physicians in Shanghai. In 2018, the department was granted the Cadre Health Care Project.

In September 2019, the department successfully applied for the Clinical Key Specialty Project in Shanghai.

Starting in 2020, the department actively participated in epidemic response work (1 support mission during the 2020 Wuhan epidemic; 3 support missions during the 2022 Shanghai epidemic). Additionally, several medical staff members of the department participated in fever clinics, nucleic acid testing clinics, community medication distribution clinics, nucleic acid sampling, and the production of epidemic information videos, among other activities.

On December 21, 2021, the "Wheelchair Circle" of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at Zhongshan Hospital was awarded the First Prize in the 9th National Hospital Quality Control Circle (Multidimensional Tools) Competition - QFD Innovation Special Event.

As of June 2022, the Rehabilitation Research Institute has one director, one honorary director, six vice directors, and one secretary. The Rehabilitation Medicine Department at Zhongshan Hospital has 76 staff members, including eight with senior titles and 16 with intermediate titles.