中国一重前身为第一重型机器厂，是“一五”期间建设156项重点工程项目之一，始建于1954年，是中央管理的涉及国家安全和国民经济命脉的国有重要骨干企业之一，是国家创新型试点企业、国家高新技术企业，拥有重型技术装备国家工程研究中心、国家能源重大装备材料研发中心。

中国一重主要为钢铁、有色、电力、能源、汽车、矿山、石油、化工、交通运输等行业及国防军工提供重大成套技术装备、高新技术产品和服务，并开展相关的国际贸易。主要产品有核岛设备、重型容器、大型铸锻件、专项产品、冶金设备、重型锻压设备、矿山设备和工矿配件等。70余年来，为国民经济建设提供机械产品600多万吨，开发研制新产品444项，填补国内工业产品技术空白584项，创造了数百项“第一”。中国一重具备核岛一回路核电设备全覆盖制造能力，是中国核岛装备的领导者、国际先进的核岛设备供应商和服务商，是当今世界炼油用加氢反应器的最大供货商、冶金企业全流程设备供应商。

China First Heavy Industries, previously known as First Heavy Machinery Works, was founded since 1954 as one of the 156 key projects in the “First-Five-Years” period of China. CFHI is one of important state-owned enterprises relating to the national security and economy lifeline under the administration of central government and has been awarded with the titles of the National Innovative Pilot Enterprise, National High-Tech Enterprise, and having the National Heavy Machinery Engineering and Research Center and the National R&D Center of Energy Equipment and Material.

CFHI is mainly engaged in the supply of complete technical equipment, high-tech products and services to the steel, non-ferrous, power generation, energy, automobile, mining, oil and petroleum, chemical, transportation and national defense industries and carrying out relevant international trade. Main products include nuclear island equipment, heavy-duty vessels, large steel castings and forgings, special equipment, metallurgical equipment, heavy-duty metal forming equipment, mining equipment and the machinery spare parts. With more than 70 years of development, CFHI has supplied more than 6 million tons of machinery, 444 new products for Chinese economical developments, developed 584 industrial technologies unprecedented in the Chinese industrial fields and created hundreds of “The First Unit” in China. CFHI possesses the capacities of manufacturing the all primary loop components for nuclear island, has become the leader of  Chinese nuclear island components, the supplier and service provider of international advanced nuclear island components, the largest supplier of hydrogenenation reactors used for oil refineries, supplier of full process equipment for metallurgical industries.