Nanjing Tech University has a longstanding tradition of being a center of excellence in learning and teaching, having first been established over a century ago. It is part of the Higher Education Innovative Capacity Promotion Plan ("2011 Plan" for short), and is amongst the initial 14 universities considered to be key institutions in Jiangsu Province leading in comprehensive reforms and strategies for developing talents. Furthermore, Nanjing Tech University has been officially approved by China's Ministry of Education for training "Excellent Engineers" as well as for comprehensive reform of postgraduate degrees in professional subjects.

The University offers programs and research in engineering, science, management, economics, liberal arts, law, medicine and art. In particular, the ESIs of chemistry and materials sciences have been ranked among the top 1% in the world due to the preponderance of disciplines and an outstanding faculty team. In addition, four other disciplines, engineering, biology and biochemistry, environmental science and ecology, and physics, among the top 1% in the world.

The University is home to seven national scientific research platforms, 32 research centers, and 27 key laboratories of provincial and ministerial level. To date, it has established close ties with more than 100 world-class universities and research institutes globally.