Thousands of people had gathered to see the new year celebrations for 2015, which was later cancelled by the government.
Reports suggest the stampede was triggered by people stopping to pick up fake money thrown from the balcony of a nightclub.
The Shanghai City government said the situation began to deteriorate at 23:35 local time (15:35 GMT) and that a "working group" had been set up to handle the incident.
Many of the dead are believed to be students, with 25 of them women, State media reports.
President Xi Jinping has told the Shanghai government to find the causes of the crush as soon as possible, according to State TV.
A traditional new year fireworks display on the Bund had already been cancelled due to official fears of overcrowding, the Shanghai Daily reports.
The BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai says the investigation may focus on why so many people turned out despite the cancellation and whether there were enough police resources in place to look after them.
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