The English Department of the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University was formerly an English major course established by Nanjing Normal University 19 17. The English Department was established by Nanjing Normal University 1920 and is one of the earliest English departments in China. The English Department was merged into the Department of Foreign Languages of Southeast University on 1924, and was renamed the English Teaching and Research Section, which remained in use until 1993, when the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University was established.

The English Department has a long history and a solid foundation, and has a fine tradition of rigorous scholarship, in-depth research and solid style of study. The English language and literature major of Nanjing University is one of the first doctoral programs approved by 198 1 the State Council Academic Degree Office. 1994 became a key discipline in Jiangsu province, became a national key discipline in 2002, passed the examination and evaluation of the Ministry of Education in 2007, and was approved as a national key discipline again. After 95 years, the English Department of Nanjing University has developed into one of the important bases for cultivating English talents in China.