The Xia-Shang-Zhou Archaeology Division is one of the three traditional research divisions of the Institute of Archaeology. Its predecessor was the Shang and Zhou Research Group, which was established in 1953 and headed by Guo Baojun. In 1978, the group was formally reorganised as the Second Research Division, with Zhang Changshou serving as its first director. In the 1990s, it was renamed the Xia-Shang-Zhou Archaeology Division. In 2003, Archaeological Research on the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties was designated a Key Discipline of the CASS.

The division currently oversees 12 fieldwork teams and project groups. It has long been responsible for the archaeological excavation and research of major capital sites of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, including Taosi, Erlitou, Yanshi Shang City, Yinxu, Fenghao, Zhouyuan, and Liulihe. It also conducts archaeological investigations on both flanks of the Taihang Mountains, in the Wu–Yue cultural region of southeastern China, and along the middle and upper reaches of the Jing–Wei River. The division undertakes major research programmes on the origins and early development of civilization and the state, the archaeological cultures of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou periods, as well as the capitals and social structures of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.