The request, made by the University and College Union (UCU), found 61% of further education colleges and 53% of UK universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have teaching staff on zero-hours contracts.
The request found five institutions had more than 1,000 people on zero-hours contracts.
The union said despite the large numbers of colleges and universities using zero-hours contracts, only a small number said they had policies on them.
Unacceptable underbelly
UCU said the findings shone an important light onto the "murky world" of the casualisation of teaching staff. It said recent attempts to uncover how prevalent zero-hours contracts are have highlighted just how difficult it is to get to the bottom of the problem.
UCU president Simon Renton said the widespread use of these contracts is the "unacceptable underbelly" of the UK's colleges and universities.
"Employers cannot hide behind the excuse of flexibility. This flexibility is not a two-way street and, for far too many people, it is simply a case of exploitation," Renton said.
"We are encouraged that both the Government and the opposition have said they will be looking at zero-hour contracts, but neither side has yet said anything that will give the thousands of people subjected to these conditions much hope."
Last month, the CIPD reported more than one million workers in the UK are on zero-hours contracts.
Some of the countries largest employers have found to be employing large amounts of staff on these contracts.
This week McDonald's VP HR Jez Langhorn defended the company's use of them, telling HR magazine that 94% of its employees are happy with their hours and contracts.
