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Government institution · Beijing · China

National Natural Science Foundation of China

In research, National Natural Science Foundation of China stands highest in Physical Sciences (#8,879 of 21,541 worldwide), Medicine (#12,144 of 17,978 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#10,421 of 14,347 worldwide), over all time.

nsfc.gov.cnROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#11,294
of 28,054 · #14,086 all time
Rank in China
#2,005
of 3,058
Research works
1.2k
▼ 12% vs 2013–17
Citations
16k
13.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
17.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
42%
world 28%

What is National Natural Science Foundation of China known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Physical SciencesDomain #8,879 of 21,541 9.8%516
MedicineField #12,144 of 17,978 11.4%373
Life SciencesDomain #10,421 of 14,347 9.6%179
Health SciencesDomain #14,949 of 20,462 11.2%390
EngineeringField #10,189 of 11,412 8.6%166
Social SciencesDomain #15,423 of 16,945 16.1%121

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Natural Science Foundation of China sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.76× its world share, 13 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.57× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.86× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.86× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.62× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.95× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.80× its world share, 9 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.62× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.33× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.80× its world share, 17 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.90× its world share, 6 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.17× its world share, 11 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.41× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.97× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.62× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.94× its world share, 53 worksMedicineNursing: 0.67× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.95× its world share, 3 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.39× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.25× its world share, 4 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Materials Science, 2.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Natural Science Foundation of China?

Ranked on the composite score, 张凡 and Zhang Ya lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Natural Science Foundation of China.

  1. 1 张凡 China · #1,311,027 worldwide 0 citations · 85 works
  2. 2 Zhang Ya China · #1,507,691 worldwide 0 citations · 18 works
All ranked researchers at National Natural Science Foundation of China

Which keywords describe research at National Natural Science Foundation of China?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Angiogenesis, Tumor Microenvironment, PET Imaging, Inflammation, Climate Change, Immunotherapy, Lattice QCD and Stromal Cells.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change6▲ 1.52×28 topics
  2. Epidemiology6◆ 0.98×39 topics
  3. Inflammation5▲ 1.84×36 topics
  4. Angiogenesis4▲ 9.3×8 topics
  5. Cancer4▲ 2.2×19 topics
  6. Tumor Microenvironment4▲ 6.7×6 topics
  7. Nanoparticles4▲ 2.2×16 topics
  8. Immunotherapy4▲ 3.5×10 topics
  9. Oxidative Stress3▲ 1.47×15 topics
  10. PET Imaging3▲ 14×4 topics
  11. Catalysis3▲ 3.4×11 topics
  12. Nanomaterials3▲ 2.1×11 topics
  13. Treatment3▲ 1.82×21 topics
  14. Chemotherapy3▲ 2.9×10 topics
  15. Genetic Mutations3▲ 4.5×12 topics
  16. Cancer Therapy3▲ 3.2×5 topics
  17. Precision Medicine2▲ 3.8×6 topics
  18. Lattice QCD2▲ 28×2 topics
  19. Tissue Engineering2▲ 2.7×8 topics
  20. Stromal Cells2▲ 21×2 topics
  21. Drug Delivery2▲ 2.8×8 topics
  22. Immunosuppression2▲ 17×4 topics
  23. Cancer Progression2▲ 7.3×4 topics
  24. Fibroblast Activation Protein2▲ 31×1 topic
  25. Metastasis2▲ 4.0×6 topics
  26. N-terminal Acetylation2▲ 31×1 topic
  27. Materials2▲ 5.0×6 topics
  28. Cell Death2▲ 5.0×3 topics
  29. Chronic Kidney Disease2▲ 4.8×6 topics
  30. Interdisciplinary Research2▲ 13×2 topics
  31. Extracellular Matrix2▲ 6.2×5 topics
  32. Team Science2▲ 42×2 topics
  33. Traditional Chinese Medicine2▲ 9.0×4 topics
  34. Capacity Building1▲ 16×2 topics
  35. Heavy-Ion Collisions1▲ 38×1 topic
  36. Integrative Medicine1▲ 17×2 topics
  37. Quark-Gluon Plasma1▲ 38×1 topic
  38. Global Collaboration1▲ 29×1 topic
  39. Health Biotechnology1▲ 62×1 topic
  40. Molecular Profiling1▲ 9.7×3 topics

Which research topics does National Natural Science Foundation of China publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Peptidase Inhibition and Analysis, High-Energy Particle Collisions Research, Biotechnology and Related Fields and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education.

Peptidase Inhibition and…2Peptidase Inhibition and Analysis: 2 fractional worksHigh-Energy Particle Col…1High-Energy Particle Collisions Research: 1 fractional worksBiotechnology and Related Fields: 1 fractional worksArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education: 1 fractional worksCatalytic Processes in Materials Science: 1 fractional worksBioinformatics and Genomic Networks: 1 fractional worksProtease and Inhibitor Mechanisms: 1 fractional worksInterdisciplinary Resear…1Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration: 1 fractional worksQuantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions: 1 fractional worksPancreatic function and diabetes: 1 fractional works
OncologyNuclear and High Energy PhysicsPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthHealth Informatics5 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Peptidase Inhibition and Analysis Oncology 2 works
  2. 2 High-Energy Particle Collisions Research Nuclear and High Energy Physics 1 works
  3. 3 Biotechnology and Related Fields Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 1 works
  4. 4 Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education Health Informatics 1 works
  5. 5 Catalytic Processes in Materials Science Materials Chemistry 1 works
  6. 6 Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks Molecular Biology 1 works
  7. 7 Protease and Inhibitor Mechanisms Cancer Research 1 works
  8. 8 Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration Information Systems and Management 1 works
  9. 9 Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions Nuclear and High Energy Physics 1 works
  10. 10 Pancreatic function and diabetes Surgery 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available41.6%not open58.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors30.8%domestic only69.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Natural Science Foundation of China's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 12% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Beijing

All research institutions in Beijing

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.