With a long and profound historical origin, as early as the initial stage of the establishment of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) in 1958, the Virology Research Laboratory was founded, with Professor Zhou Jiachi serving as its director. Along with the development of virology, the laboratory gradually branched into two sub-fields: plant virology and animal virology. 

In 1990, led by Prof. Mang Keqiang and Academician Fang Rongxiang, the research direction of plant virology was initiated, and the CAS Open Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology was established. In 1995, Academician Tian Bo advocated the establishment of the Open Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Bioengineering, pioneering the field of animal virology.

The Molecular Immunology Center was founded in 2002 (with Professor Tang Hong as director; Professor George Fu Gao took over the directorship in 2005, and Professor Gao Bin succeeded as director in 2007). In 2004, the Molecular Virology Center was established, with Professor Liu Wenjun serving as its director. In 2008, led by Academician George Fu Gao, the Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology (abbreviated as "Pathogen Laboratory") was founded.

After more than a decade of development and continuous leapfrog innovation, the Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory has focused on national strategic needs and international frontiers It conducts forward-looking basic research in fields including the genomics and molecular evolution of major pathogenic microorganisms, the cross-species transmission of zoonotic pathogens, and the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen-host interactions, and has now attained an internationally leading status.

The core feature of the Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory lies in the interaction between major infectious pathogens and hosts, as well as immune intervention. Facing the main battlefield of the national economy and the health of people ,the laboratory carries out research on new theories and strategies for immune intervention in diseases related to pathogenic microorganisms and immunity. It adheres to original innovation to solve "bottleneck" technical problems in the field of pathogenic microorganism prevention and control, including the R&D of vaccines, antibodies, and small-molecule drugs. It made important contributions during the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.