Zhejiang Yiteng

Zhejiang Green Town Football Club Co., Ltd. was officially established on January 14, 1998, with a capital base of 16 million yuan. Zeng Leming was appointed as general manager. Greentown Real Estate Company, Hangzhou Qiantang Real Estate Company, Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Provincial Football Association all participated in the creation and registration of the club. The team participated in the third tier with Bao Yingfu as their first head coach. They made the play-offs in 2000 before losing to Tianjin Lifei.

In November 2000, the club bought the playing rights to participate in the Chinese Football Association Jia League as well as 32 players from Yanbian F.C. for 25 million Yuan. Under the new general manager Shen Qiang, the club failed to win promotion to the top tier league, as several players and coaches were discovered to be taking bribes to throw games. Offending participants were banned for a year and the club had to reform and re-apply for a CFA playing license. The club then went through several management changes as well as a significant ownership shift, which saw Song Weiping's company Greentown China Holdings Limited take a 96% share of the team for 20 million yuan in 2005 while Zhejiang University held on to 4%.

The team achieved promotion at the end of the 2006 league season when they came second in the division.

Hangzhou Greentown

In 2009, the club renamed itself to Hangzhou Greentown Football Club.

The club was set to be relegated at the end of the 2009 season, but were allowed to stay remain in the 2010 CFA Super League after it was discovered that Chengdu Blades and Guangzhou GPC were guilty of match-fixing.

AFC Champions League debut

After the 2009 season, the club signed several established Chinese internationals such as Du Wei, Li Yan and Wang Song. The club's results significantly improved throughout the 2010 league campaign, which saw them achieve their highest ever finish of fourth and a chance to play in the 2011 AFC Champions League for the first time.

They were relegated to the 2017 China League One after finishing in second-to-last place in the 2016 Chinese Super League.

Aiming to win the 2017 National Games of China, Hangzhou Greentown prioritized the club's youth. However, the team struggled near the relegation zone in their first season of China League. Young trainer Xu Lei filled for manager Hong Myung-bo and the team returned to 9th place in the league. Former player and veteran Jiao Fengbo returned as the new general manager.

Zhejiang Greentown

On 14 January 2018, the club changed their name to Zhejiang Greentown Football Club for the 20th anniversary of the club. They reached third place in the China League.

Zhejiang Energy Greentown

In September 2020, the team changed their name to Zhejiang Energy Greentown Football Club, as Zhejiang Energy Group stepped in as one of the major shareholders and Song Weiping officially quit the club.

Rebrand to Zhejiang

On 26 February 2021, according to the requirements of non-corporate change of club name by the Chinese Football Association, the club's name changed to Zhejiang Professional Football Club.

Return to the AFC Champions League

Zhejiang finished third in the 2022 Chinese Super League season, qualifying for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage.

On 20 June 2024, AFC confirmed Zhejiang would participate in the inaugural 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two group stage. Zhejiang was placed in Group F alongside Thai club Port FC, Singaporean club Lion City Sailors and Indonesian club Persib Bandung.

2026 Chinese Super League season

In 2026, Zhejiang started the 2026 Chinese Super League season with five points deducted for violation of sports ethics and loss of sportsmanship as they engaged in improper transactions to seek illegitimate benefits.