He is known for his work on the convergence of the EM algorithm,[1] resampling methods such as the bootstrap and jackknife, and industrial statistics, including design of experiments, and robust parameter design (Taguchi methods).

[14] He received the Shewhart Medal of the American Society for Quality[15] and an honorary degree from the University of Waterloo in 2008.

[17] Later, in November 1997, he gave the inaugural lecture entitled "Statistics = Data Science?

In Mile, Yunnan, China, a conference was held in July 2014 celebrating Professor Wu's 65th birthday.

[23] In 2017 Jeff Wu received the George Box Medal from ENBIS.

[25] In the same year, he also got the Sigma Xi’s Monie A. Ferst Award which, since 1977, has honored science and engineering teachers who have inspired their students to significant research achievements.