The School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University originated from the Department of Chemistry of Jiangxi University and the Department of Chemical Engineering of Jiangxi Institute of Technology, both established in 1958. It is one of the earliest science and engineering schools of the university.

At present, the school consists of five sub-school teaching units (Department of Chemistry, Department of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, Basic Chemistry Experiment Center, and Comprehensive Experiment Center); five key laboratories of Jiangxi Province (Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Ferroelectrochemistry, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Thin‑Film Energy Chemistry, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and Energy Catalysis, Jiangxi Provincial Laboratory of Polymer Energy Materials Engineering, and Jiangxi Provincial Rare Earth Precursors Engineering Research Center); and five university-level independent research organizations (Ordered Matter Science Research Center, Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Institute of Rare Earths, Institute of Applied Chemistry, and Research Center for Rare Earth & Micro-Nano Functional Materials).

The school currently has four provincial first-class undergraduate programs: Chemistry, Applied Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Technology, and Pharmaceutical Engineering. The latter three have been selected into the national first-class undergraduate construction programs; Chemistry and Applied Chemistry has been listed in the first batch of five-star programs of Jiangxi Province. The school has two doctoral degree programs of first-class disciplines and two postdoctoral research stations in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Technology; two professional master degree programs of Material & Chemical Engineering and Biology & Medicine.

The school is a member unit of Chinese Chemical Society and the chairman unit of Jiangxi Provincial Chemical Society and Chemical Engineering. The chemistry discipline is among the first batch of leading disciplines of Jiangxi University Discipline Alliance. Chemical Engineering & Technology is a high-level key discipline in Jiangxi and has been selected into the Jiangxi High-Level University Construction Plan.

The school has 128 full-time faculty members, including 61 professors and 37 associate professors. 91% of them have doctoral degree. Currently, one faculty member has won academician.

The school has obtained abundant scientific research achievements. As to the number of NSFC projects and high-level scientific papers, the school has always been among the best in the ranking of Nanchang University. Over past 5 years, the school has gotten more than 100 projects from NSFC including one major project (the first one in Jiangxi Province), three key projects, two projects supported by National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, and three cultivation projects for major research programs, and two National Key Research and Development Project of China. More than 800 papers have been published in prestigious journals, such as Science, PNAS, JACS, Angew, Sci. Adv., and AM, by faculty members as the first corresponding author. Several research achievements are rated as “Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress in Chinese Universities”. Moreover, the school has won 25 provincial and ministerial level awards and prizes. The report released by the United States Essential Science Indicators Database (ESI) indicates that the ESI ranking of the Chemistry discipline of Nanchang University has been increased from top 5.2‰ in 2017 to 0.987‰ in June 2025. Its Global Chemistry Subject Natural Index ranks 82^th.

The school has achieved remarkable outcomes in talent cultivation by consistently adhering to the educational principle of "moral education and talent development", promoting the institutional ethos of "upholding virtue and scholarship, maintaining integrity and dedication", and embracing an educational philosophy centered on "first-class positioning, international vision, leadership by distinguished faculty, and service to society". It is committed to establishing itself as a premier teaching and research hub with world-class undergraduate education and advanced capabilities in scientific research and innovation, aiming to nurture high-caliber talents who excel in both ethical integrity and professional expertise. At the forefront of undergraduate education, the school boasts several experienced and high-performing teaching teams. Over the past five years, it has secured over ten national and provincial-level high-quality courses, received one first prize and two second prizes in provincial teaching achievement awards, attained more than 35 provincial teaching reform projects, won a national multimedia courseware competition excellence award, and produced one provincial gold medal teacher. The school has consecutively been awarded the top prize in the national undergraduate teaching evaluation and ranked first in Nanchang University’s comprehensive assessment of undergraduate programs. It has also cultivated quite several distinguished alumni: Professors Qiu Dingfan and Xie Mingyong were elected academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Professor Xiong Rengen was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Zeng Anping was elected academician of the German Academy of Engineering Sciences; and Professor Hu Yunxing was elected academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. To date, the school has produced over 10,000 graduates in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.

The school is a key Party building model department fostered by the university and has been listed in the third batch of the Ministry of Education’s national Party building model departments construction program. It currently hosts one national Party building model branch recognized by the Ministry of Education, one key cultivation project for the Ministry of Education and university-level “dual leader” branch secretary studio, and one university-level Party building characteristic education base featuring the “1+8+N” class tutor party building education base.

The school currently has a total of 1,935 students, comprising 1,106 undergraduates and 829 postgraduate students, among whom 134 are doctoral candidates. The school strongly promotes party building work, such as the “1+8+N” class supervisor system, the new model of "Life of Mobile Party Organizations Led by Great Teachers" and the "Party Building + Smart Chemistry" undergraduate scientific research training plan. In the past three years, the initial employment rate of graduates has maintained around 90%, and the admission rate for postgraduate entrance examinations has maintained around 40%. Students have received more than 100 national and provincial-level awards, including individual honors, in prestigious competitions such as the China Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award, the Internet+ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the Challenge Cup, and the National Chemical Experiment Innovation Competition.

In terms of serving social development, the school actively promotes school-enterprise cooperation, cooperates with well-known companies in education, and works with corporate R&D teams to develop key technologies and products. More than 20 research results have been industralized by 10 groups, which has pushed forward the development of related industry, and brought very good socialand economic benefit.

The school has launched many scholarship (grants) projects such as Tengding Scholarship, Shengyi Scholarship, Sanxin Scholarship, Guangyuan Chemical Scholarship, and Chemical Alumni Scholarship. The total funding is nearly 1 million yuan. Benefiting all departments, majors, and students at all levels in the school, the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has become one of the schools with the most alumni-funded scholarships.

The school actively promotes international education, and has held six times Summer School, for which many famous scholars from different countries were invited to give lessons. The school collaborates with National University of Singapore and other international universities to educate students, and invites domestic and abroad scholars to give lectures at Zhihui Chemistry Forum with an aim to cultivate high-quality talents with international perspectives.

At present, Nanchang University has embarked on a new journey, championing the spirit of "Setting the Benchmark, Embracing the Lead, and Pursuing excellence". The school of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering is also striving to build first-class disciplines and a first-class high-level institution.