Xuzhou was called Pengcheng in ancient times, also known as Zhuolu.

At the end of primitive society, Yao granted Peng Zu the location of today's urban area and made it the Dapeng Kingdom. Xuzhou was called Pengcheng from the beginning.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Pengcheng belonged to the Song Dynasty and later to the Chu State. After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, Pengcheng County was established.

During the Chu and Han Dynasties, the overlord of Western Chu established his capital in Pengcheng. In the Western Han Dynasty, Pengcheng County was established, and in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Pengcheng State was established and its capital was Pengcheng.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao moved the Xuzhou Governor's Department to Pengcheng, and Pengcheng was called Xuzhou from the beginning.

In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Pengcheng State or Xuzhou was established, and most of the capitals or administrative offices were in Pengcheng.

In the Sui Dynasty, Xuzhou was established, and later it was changed to Pengcheng County to govern Pengcheng.

In the early Tang Dynasty, the names of Xuzhou and Pengcheng County were exchanged many times. In the middle and late period, Xuzhou became the residence of Jiedushi.

In the Five Dynasties, each dynasty established Xuzhou, governed Pengcheng, and controlled 7 counties.

In both the Song and Yuan dynasties, Xuzhou was established, and its affiliation and jurisdiction changed frequently.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Xuzhou was directly under the capital, and later under Nanjing.

In the early Qing Dynasty, Xuzhou was a direct prefecture under Jiangnan Province and Jiangsu Province. In the late Yongzheng Dynasty, it was promoted to Xuzhou Prefecture. Because the prefecture governed Pengcheng County, there was Tongshan Island, so Pengcheng County was renamed Tongshan County.

At the beginning of the Republic of China, the government was abolished, and the Xuzhou Prefecture was attached to Guo Tongshan County. Later, Xuhai Road was set up, and its governance was in Tongshan (Xuzhou).

During the Japanese puppet period, Tongshan County was divided into Xuzhou City, which was once the capital of the puppet Huaihai Province. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the National Government still placed Xuzhou City in Jiangsu Province. In 1949, because Jiangsu Province had not yet been completely liberated, Xuzhou City was temporarily managed by Shandong Province.

In January 1953, Xuzhou City was officially placed under the direct jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province, and the Xuzhou Prefecture was established at the same time, located in Xuzhou City, with jurisdiction over 11 counties and cities. Since then, Xuzhou City and Xuzhou Prefecture have coexisted, and their jurisdiction has changed in different periods. In 1983, Jiangsu Province implemented a city-governed county system, withdrew the Xuzhou Prefecture and placed the six counties under its jurisdiction under Xuzhou City. Xuzhou City currently governs 6 districts (Yunlong District, Gulou District, Jiuli District, Jiawang District, Quanshan District, and Tongshan District) and 5 counties and cities (Pizhou City, Xinyi City, Suining County, Pei County, and Feng County).