Sun Zhengcai, 49, will take over from outgoing chief Zhang Dejiang, who was promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee, Xinhua news agency said.
Mr Zhang replaced Bo Xilai in March, as investigations into his case began.
Mr Bo is now facing trial on a raft of charges.
Mr Sun is a newly-appointed member of the 25-strong politburo. He previously served as party secretary in Jilin province and was agriculture minister from 2006-2009.
The reshuffle follows the party congress last week at which the Communist Party unveiled the leadership line-up that will govern for the next decade.
Mr Bo – whose police chief has been jailed for both covering up and then exposing the case – faces charges related to corruption and abuse of power.
China’s newly-appointed Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, has stressed the importance of fighting corruption in the few days since he assumed his post.
“In recent years, within our party there have been serious discipline violations, the nature of which has been very bad, with a terrible political impact, causing much alarm,” Mr Xi said in a speech to the politburo over the weekend, as reported by state media.