On 4 March 1956, Henan Yu Theatre was established with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, which was one of the eight major troupes in the country under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Culture and was administered by the People's Government of Henan Province. The first director Chang Xiangyu. It has three troupes and the Henan People's Theatre. In 1978, with the approval of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the three troupes of Henan Yu Theatre were renamed Henan Yu Opera Troupe I, II and III, and they performed under the leadership of the Henan Provincial Bureau of Culture, while the staff of the theatre was assigned to each of the troupes.

After the 1990s, especially after entering the new century, the three Yu Opera troupes have achieved great development, with a large number of excellent plays such as "Cheng Ying Saves an Orphan", "Chang Xiangyu", "Fragrant Soul Girl", "On the Pavilion of Clear Breeze", "Su Wu Shepherds the Goat", "Li Tiansheng, a Village Official", "Jiao Yulu" and so on, which have become famous all over the country. It has been awarded the "Wenhua Grand Prize" for four consecutive times, selected as one of the "Top Ten Excellence Projects of National Stage Art" for seven times, and won the "Five First Project" Award of the Central Propaganda Department for nine times. The number of awards is the highest in China.

On 17th July 2013, Henan Yu Theatre was established on the basis of Henan Yu Opera Troupe 1, Troupe 2 and Troupe 3 with the approval of Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, with the specification of deputy departmental level. The establishment of 306 people, 230 people retired, 200 people hired outside.

It has an office, art development department, financial security department and three troupes of Henan Yu Theatre.

On 1 November 2013, the Youth Troupe of Henan Yu Theatre was established internally. Li Shujian is the president and Wang Quanzhen is the secretary of the Party Committee. With an annual financial subsidy of RMB 60 million, the theatre performs more than 800 shows and earns a revenue of RMB 25 million, with a total annual income of nearly RMB 90 million. There are 45 senior titles, 67 deputy senior titles, 80 intermediate titles, 13 Plum Blossom Award-winning performers (including 4 retired ones), and 3 national model workers and advanced workers.