Kocaeli University's mother institution was founded in 1976 as Kocaeli State Academy of Engineering and Architecture, and housed Electrical and Mechanical Faculty, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Institute of Foreign Languages. All of these schools became a part of Yildiz University's Kocaely Engineering Faculty in 1982, and changed its name into Kocaeli University in 3 July 1992.

As of July 2006, Kocaeli University has 1890 academic staff including 171 professors, 84 associate professors, 434 assistant professos, 282 lecturers, 163 instructors, 704 research assistants and 52 specialists, and 975 admistrative staff who work in 11 faculties, 7 community colleges, 1 state conservatory, 18 vocational schools and 3 institutes. As of February 2007, 50.476 students are enrolled in the university.