The former Real Madrid and Juventus defender, who has been part of Al Ahli's coaching staff, will take over from former mentor Marcello Lippi, who will become Evergrande's technical director.
Evergrande's official Twitter handle posted photos of Cannavaro arriving at the airport and at the official press conference alongside Lippi, declaring "welcome to Guangzhou, Fabio Cannavaro".
The Chinese outfit also posted on their website that "Cannavaro officially joined Guangzhou Evergrande's coaching team".
Cannavaro played under Lippi when the latter was in charge of Italy's national team, with the duo leading their country to World Cup glory in 2006 as captain and coach.
Lippi signalled the end of his career as a head coach after leading Evergrande to their third straight Chinese Super League title on Sunday.
"I will be 67 years old in the near future, and I do not want to be the head coach anymore," he said.
"But I will be in charge of technical staff as a member of the coaching team."
The job at Evergrande will be Cannavaro's first as a head coach.