The Li Ka Shing Foundation was established in 1980 by global entrepreneur and philanthropist Li Ka-shing.

Mr Li Ka-shing considers the Foundation to be his "third son" and has pledged one-third of his assets to it. To date, Mr. Li has invested over HK$30 billion in projects covering education, medical services, charity and anti-poverty programmes, with about 80% of the projects in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Under the shared belief that a healthy community begins with healthy individuals, the Foundation donated a generous gift of $100 million to the University's Faculty of Medicine in 2005 to establish the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences and the first Li Ka Shing Professorship, with a view to further promoting the understanding of health and disease.

In September 2007, the Li Ka Shing Foundation gave another donation for setting up a $20 million Li Ka Shing Professorship, being the second one for the University.

In August 2020, the Li Ka Shing Foundation donated HK$35 million to enhance the core facility at the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences with the installation of an advanced analytical system and mass spectrometer at the CUHK Faculty of Medicine to build the world’s foremost translational biomedical research platform. 

In March 2021, the Li Ka Shing Foundation has further support the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences by a HK$30 million donation for the upgrade of research facilities.