Established in 1907, Tongji University is one of the leading universities in China under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education, is listed on Project 985 and Project 211, and is one of the Class A universities in the World-leading University Construction Program of China. With over a century of history, Tongji University has always valued the balanced development of five functions, namely the nurturing of talents, scientific research, community service, cultural inheritance and innovation, and international exchange. These have propelled the University to become a top-ranking university in the country.

The University now covers 11 broad categories of academic disciplines, to include: Engineering, Science, Medicine, Management, Economics, Philosophy, Literature, Law, Education, and Fine Arts. Tongji is home to 2797 full-time faculty members, of which 1032 hold senior professional titles, 17 are members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (including those double employed), 28 are members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (including those double employed). There are 37 foreign members of the World Academy of Sciences and Academies of either Sciences or Engineering in the United States, Germany, and Sweden. The University now has 18727 full-time undergraduate students, 11988 Master’s students, and 9112 doctoral candidates, with 4239 international students pursuing degrees here.

The University offers 73 undergraduate majors. It can grant Master's degrees in 45 broad academic disciplines along with 30 professional Master's programs. It also confers doctoral degrees in 37 broad academic disciplines with 12 professional doctoral programs and 35 postdoctoral mobile research stations. Tongji University houses six State Key Laboratories, one National Engineering Laboratory, one National Major Technology Infrastructure Equipment, one National Collaborative Innovation Center, one National Large-Scale Scientific Instruments Center, six National Engineering (Technology) Research Centers, six national-level research platforms and 117 research platforms at the provincial and ministerial levels. Also, there are 12 hospitals, and 13 middle and primary schools affiliated with the University.

(Relevant statistics are available as of December 2024)