The discipline of astrophysics at Nanjing University, established in 1952, was rated as a National Key Discipline in 1988 and 2001. Its academic standing has been one of the highest among all programs of the discipline in universities in China. It has a high-caliber research team, including Academicians Qu Qinyue, Su Dingqiang and Fang Cheng, all of them highly regarded academic leaders at home and abroad. Among its 18 faculty members, 11 are young teachers with doctoral degrees. Four of them are Chang-Jiang Distinguished Professors, six are winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, one is a winner of the Excellent Teacher Award by Ministry of Education of China, and three are selected scholars for the Program for New Century Excellent Talents. Some of the research by the faculty has received much attention internationally and won high appraisals from colleagues. The program has had five doctoral dissertations awarded the title of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertations.

High-Energy Astrophysics

High-energy astrophysics focuses on supernovae and their remnants, γ-ray bursts and their afterglows, neutron stars and pulsar physics, and nuclear astrophysics. The research is of great academic significance for understanding the high-energy processes at the stellar level, exploring the evolutionary laws of celestial bodies, and discovering and understanding the physical laws under extreme physical conditions.

In some areas of high-energy astrophysics, Nanjing University holds leading positions in China.

Physics of the Solar Active Regions

Physics of the solar active regions focuses on the three-dimensional structure and evolution of solar activities, solar magnetohydrodynamics, solar flares, particle acceleration and others, both in observation and in theory. The research is of great academic significance for the evolutionary law and essence of the solar active regions and various other active bodies. In physics of the solar active regions, Nanjing University holds leading positions in China.  

Galactic Structure and Active Galaxies

Galactic structure and active galaxies focuses on the activities of galaxy nuclear, starburst galaxies and other active galaxies, chaos in galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and structures and thickness of galaxies. The research uses observation data from large ground-based and space-based telescopes to engage in theoretical exploration in an effort to establish models and systems

Radio Astrophysics

Radio astrophysics focuses on properties and dynamic characteristics of molecular clouds and super maser sources by using high-resolution observation data of radio sources worldwide to study the overall structure of the galaxy.