Chemical Biology is a newly rapidly developed scientific discipline in the interface of chemistry and biology that involves the application of chemical techniques and tools to the study and manipulation of biological systems at the molecular level.

The Department of Chemical Biology in the College of Chemistry was established in 2002. MSc and PhD Programs in Chemical Biology were approved by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council In 2003. So far, 24 students have got Ph.D degree and 45 students have got master degree in the department. Each year about 6-8 doctorate students and 8-10 master students enroll in the division. In 2012, the department started to offer a bachelor degree program in Chemical Biology, and recruits 20 undergraduate students each year. In 2015, the department setup Uppsala University and Nankai University Dual Bachelor's Degree Program (3+1).

The Department of Chemical Biology has build up a strong teaching and research team. The current chairman of the department is Prof. Zhen Xi (leading talents of Ministry of Education). Our professors are recruited from world-renowned research institutes or universities. Among them. Research in the department covers a wide spectrum of Chemical Biology, including Biomacromolecular Chemistry, Comparative Chemical Biology, and Biomacromolecule Dynanmics. The research  projects are majorly funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology (National Basic Research Program (973 Program), National Drugs Development Program). More than 100 articles are published in SCI journals (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Anal. Chem., Chem. Comm. Scientific Report, FASEB J, J. Biol. Chem., ChemBioChem) and 12 patents are approved.

The department has more than 500 m2 of laboratory training space for students' training, including protein chemistry laboratory, nucleic acid chemistry laboratory, cell culture laboratory, computation laboratory and advanced experimental chemical biology laboratory. These laboratories are equipped with well-maintained instruments and facilities to provide excellent chemical biology experimental trainings for undergraduates and graduate students.

The Department of Chemical Biology is responsible for the teaching on Chemical Biology and related laboratory courses for the undergraduates and graduate students in college of chemistry.