The Institute of Wheat Research (IWR) was established in 1948, as a successor to the former Linfen Agricultural Experiment Station in the Jin-sui Border region, located in the central area of the grain and fruit belt in Yaodu District, Linfen City of the south of Shanxi Province. In May 1979, the name was changed to Institute of Wheat Research, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences. And in October 2019, it was renamed to Institute of Wheat Research, Shanxi Agricultural University due to the combination of colleges. In April 2020, Xixian Agricultural Experimental Station, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences was assigned to the Institute of Wheat Research. The Institute has 163 staff members, including 13 research professors, 49 associate researchers, 38 assistant researchers, 10 doctors and 58 masters. IWR contains 7 management departments, including the Party and Government Office, Organizational Personnel Department, Scientific Research Office, Social Service Office, Logistics and Security Department, Financial and Asset Department, and Xixian Agricultural Experimental Station.

IWR covers 10 research departments. Presently, there are four laboratories or research centers including the Grain Quality Analysis and Testing Center, the Laboratory of Wheat Cell Engineering and Molecular, the Laboratory of Soil-plant Physiology and the Laboratory of Pest Integrated Management. IWR is the affiliated unit of the Linfen Comprehensive Test Station of the National Wheat Industry Technology System and the supporting unit of the Shanxi Wheat Industry Technology System. As the only comprehensive agricultural research institution of Shanxi Agricultural University, IWR mainly focuses on wheat research, as well as germplasm innovation, varieties breeding, high-yield cultivation and sustainable dryland agriculture techniques of crops such as corn, soybean, peanuts, oil sunflower, sweet potato and barley. Moreover, the largest area of concern is to solve major technical problems in the production of wheat or other main crops in Shanxi province combined with applied research and basic research. IWR plays a bridgehead role of university cooperation, service area of local economic development, practice teaching of undergraduates and platform of professional degree graduate training.

Since 1948, IWR has hosted or undertaken 62 projects derived from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Agriculture, 275 projects derived from Shanxi Province, and won 109 national and provincial awards including 2 first prizes and 5 second prizes of National Science and Technology Progress, and 14 first prizes, 38 second prizes and 48 third prizes of provincial science and technology progress, and 36 authorized invention patents, and 21 provincial local standards, and 96 crop varieties. The influential varieties in early production consist of Jinmai 10, Jinmai 31, Jinmai 33, Jinmai 45, Linyou 145, Jinmian 7, Jindan 34, etc. Currently, Linfeng 3, Jinmai 92, Jinmai 95 and Pinyu 8012 are widely planted, among which Pinyu 8012 is the main wheat variety in Shanxi Province in 2020 and 2021. Besides, the anti-stress cultivation technology system of synchronous improvement combined with wheat yield and quality is the main push technology for wheat production in Shanxi Province. IWR has published more than 1400 scientific papers and 40 scientific monographs such asShanxi WheatandWheat Quality and Its Improvement.

Since October 2019, IWR has been devoted to cultivating and developing education business, and entitles 1 doctoral supervisor and 13 master supervisors. The major of the education covers: Crop Genetic Breeding, Crop Cultivation and Farming System, Resource Utilization and Plant Protection, Agricultural Resources and Environment, and Agronomy and Seed Industry. At present, IWR has cultivated one doctoral student and more than 30 master students graduated from Shanxi Agricultural University, Shanxi Normal University and Shanxi University.