Abstract: Profit-oriented private gardens were a special type of private gardens that existed in Shanghai during the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period. They were privately funded by individuals and self-financed with admission tickets and various service charges in the parks. This research examines the spatial and temporal distributions, scales, and contents of the profit-oriented private gardens in modern Shanghai during the period from 1882 to 1949. Through literature review and case studies, it compares the history of profit-oriented private gardens in Shanghai over the 60 years and explores their associations with commercialization, urbanization, and entertainment demands in modern Shanghai. The attributes of the profit-oriented private gardens were shifted from literati gardens to urban entertainment and leisure venues, seeking novelty and curiosity in the landscape construction and business contents, reflecting the increasingly prominent profitability of these gardens. While pursuing maximized commercial interests, they also became a driving force in attracting the crowd, driving urban infrastructure, and accelerating economic prosperity. The development track of profit-oriented private gardens gradually moving from the urban center to the outer suburbs catered to the continuous extension trend of real estate development boom in modern Shanghai. It also reflected the role of land price fluctuation in the change of urban industries, and corroborated the development law of spontaneous succession of urban space without planning.