Henan is the earliest developed area in China and one of the cradles of Chinese culture. According to archaeological findings, there were human activities in China about 500,000 years ago. The discovery of Xiaonanhai Cave Cultural Site in Anyang County is a strong proof. From 5000 to 6000 years ago in the Neolithic Age, Henan was already a concentrated area of human activities. The famous cultural sites in this period include Yangshao Village Cultural Site in Mianchi County, Peiligang in Xinzheng County and Egou in Mi County. These areas have fertile land, mild climate and abundant water resources, which are ideal places for primitive humans to engage in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery. Henan is located in the Central Plains. After entering the class society, it has become a battleground for military strategists. Most of the large-scale wars in the past dynasties used this as the main battlefield. During the Spring and Autumn Period, other countries fought for hegemony, and the seven heroes of the Warring States fought for hegemony, and Henan was also the center of many wars from Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to modern times. This has had a far-reaching impact on the process of historical development.

During Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Henan was the most developed and densely populated area in China. Henan was the capital of Yin and Shang Dynasties. Anyang Yin Ruins, located in the north of China, was the capital of Pan Geng and Zhou Wang in the late Shang Dynasty, which lasted for 273 years. Qin unified China and set up three counties in Henan: Sanchuan (now Luoyang), Yingchuan (now Yuzhou) and Nanyang (now Nanyang). Korean belongs to Yuzhou and. During this period, due to the appearance of Danxi, Dandong and Guangli canals in northern Henan, and the development of farmland water conservancy along the Yellow River and Huaihe River basins, agricultural production was promoted. During the Three Kingdoms period, Henan belonged to Wei. Cao Cao once reclaimed land on a large scale in Xuchang and other places, and Henan Plain became a production base. From the Western Jin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, northern minorities frequently invaded the Central Plains. After the Jin Dynasty moved south, the economic center of China began to shift from the Yellow River basin to the Yangtze River basin, gradually forming a confrontation between the north and the south. Henan has been in a state of war and separatism for a long time, and its production has been seriously damaged.

Most of Henan Province in Sui Dynasty belonged to Henan County, and moved to Henan Road in Tang Dynasty. At that time, although Luoyang was one of the national political centers, the agricultural production in Henan did not fully recover. Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, has a prosperous business and a dense population. From the Jin Dynasty to the early Yuan Dynasty, Henan suffered frequent wars and serious economic damage. Henan was called Zhongshu Province in Yuan Dynasty. Ming was appointed Governor of Henan Province. The Qing Dynasty was renamed Henan Province. From the lower reaches of the Yellow River in the Jin Dynasty, from Huaihe River to the southeast to Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1855), the Yellow River in the eastern Henan Plain frequently burst, with continuous floods, declining production and population exile. After the Opium War, imperialist forces infiltrated Henan through trading ports such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Hankou, plundering raw materials and dumping commodities. At the beginning of the 20th century, Han Jing Railway and Longhai Railway were built one after another, becoming the main producing areas of cotton and flue-cured tobacco. Because Henan was the main battlefield of domestic warlords at that time, the original only factories, mines and agricultural bases were destroyed. From 1930s to 1940s, the economy was in a state of extreme recession.