The predecessor of the Cultural Relic Museum of the School of History and Culture is the Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall of the History Department. Since the History Department’s establishment, it has paid attention to the use of physical objects in teaching activities. At that time, in order to cooperate with teaching classes about ancient Chinese history, the department first made scale models such as Peking Man skulls, and so on. And it gradually collected some cultural relics specimens. In 1956, a cultural relic exhibition hall was officially set up inside the teaching building of Henan University. From 1956 to 1965, when it was a period during which collections displayed in cultural relic exhibition hall began to accumulate, and the cultural relic exihibition hall mainly collected various cultural relics, human bones, pottery pieces, models and other specimens all used in teaching activities, and set up some full-time custodian and receptionist posts. During China's Cultural Revolution, some collections were destroyed. At the end of 1970s, the cultural relic exhibition hall was put into use again, and the damaged objects were repaired. During 1977-1984, a large number of cultural relics were collected by purchase, allocation and recipience of donated relics. The number of exhibition hall grew to three, and they consisted of 13 rooms and 1 warehouse. In 1984, Henan University and School of History and Culture decided to build an independent museum of cultural relic. In June 1985, Mr. Xia Ding, a famous archaeologist, inscribed the name of the museum on the plaque hang whose construction was completed in autumn of the same year. In January 1986, the collections in the cultural relic exhibition hall were all transferred to the museum and in May, the museum began to be open to visitors.

Covering an area of more than 3,000 square meters, with a building area of 1,550 square meters and a usable area of 1,440 square meters, the Cultural Relic Museum is an independent two-story building with national style, which is simple, elegant and solemn in appearance. After several generations’ efforts, there have been more than 4,000 pieces of cultural relics in more than 10 categories, such as ceramics, jade articles, bronzes and bones. There are exhibitions of Chinese cultural relics in past dynasties, ancient porcelain, ancient coin and bronze mirror and short-term cultural exhibitions. The Cultural Relic Museum is open to people of different social backgrounds, such as teachers and students（in the majority）as well as guests visiting Henan University, scholars from cultural and scientific research institutions, social organizations, compatriots with an average of more than 9,000 visitors per year.