Dalian Maritime University, referred to as Haida for short, is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Transport. It is jointly established by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Education, the State Oceanic Administration, the State Bureau of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the Liaoning Provincial People's Government and the Dalian Municipal People's Government. It is a national "2 1 1 engineering" key construction university and a national "double-class" world-class discipline construction university.

Selected as "11plan", "excellent engineer education and training plan", "excellent legal talent education and training plan" and "China government scholarship receiving institution for international students in China". Known as the "cradle of navigators", this school is a famous maritime institution of higher learning in China and one of the few maritime institutions in the world recognized by the International Maritime Organization as enjoying an international reputation.