[6] At present, NSYSU is a regular public university, and known for its political and commercial relations,[7] its faculty and staff serve as bureaucrats and NGO experts to maintain close contact with industry and government officials.

[11] In 1923, two years before his death, the Founding Father of the Republic of China (ROC), Dr. Sun Yat-sen, established two universities, one civil and one military.

Both universities generated remarkable contributions and played an important education role in modern Chinese history.

After National Sun Yat-sen University was established in Canton, it was forced south due to the Sino-Japanese War.

In 1980, after Chiang Ching-kuo, the president of Taiwan and an alumnus of Moscow Sun Yat-sen University in USSR, personally approved the campus design under the leadership of Dr. Lee Huan (who later served as the Premier and Minister of Education), the university was established in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung City, the second largest metropolitan area in Taiwan.

Prior to establishing the new university, government officials visited the United States and Japan and strategically decided that NSYSU would focus on graduate schools, modeling it after the advanced technology of California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the building construction methods of the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), which was designed to resist sea wind erosion.

[12] In its first two decades, NSYSU, similar to the other Sun Yat-sen universities, maintained a nationalist style and mission.

Two years later, the College of Management became the nation's first Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredited public university.

In addition, NSYSU received a first/second stage grant from the "Aim for the Top University Plan" from the Ministry of Education in 2011 and 2016.

[13] In the final two months of 2014, Nobel laureates Akira Suzuki and Hiroshi Amano visited the university.

Based on an academic style that emphasizes ocean and commerce,[16] it not only is the birthplace of Taiwan's first college of maritime sciences but also is unique in hosting water sports activities directly on campus.

[13] The university is the birthplace of the first Sinophone bulletin board system (中山大學美麗之島) and popular Asian cultural terms "ACG".

[19] Located alongside the Kaohsiung Harbor and a military base, the NSYSU main campus is surrounded on three sides by mountains and also faces the open waters of the Taiwan Strait, thus making it a natural fortress.

In addition to the university buildings on the campus, there also is a seaside resort, a stadium constructed by land reclamation, Sizihwan Tunnel, and historic places remaining from the Japanese ruling era.

There are a large number of Formosan rock macaques, cockatoos, Pallas's squirrels, and Reeves's muntjacs, and the campus area is rich in natural ecology.

[21][22] In 2022, NSYSU opened the Renwu campus, built on 24 hectares of land, with three areas of focus planned: AI medicine, intelligent health care, and ecological recreation.

In December 2020, this Campus completed 24 hectares of land preparation operations, including base elevation adjustment, drainage facilities for detention ponds, tree clearing and greening, etc.

[70] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the U.S. think tank East-West Center, organizes the Pacific Islands Leadership Program (PILP).

and Burkina Faso student to receive a doctorate are both graduates of the NSYSU Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies.

[72][73] NSYSU graduates include the President of the Legislative Yuan Su Jia-chyuan, the Mayor of Kaohsiung Chen Chu, Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives David H. Rowe, and a sizable number of CEOs from among the 500 largest companies in the world,[74] such as John Lin, the Vice President of eBay,[75] Yuei-An Liou, a space scientist and distinguished professor, and chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission Huang Tien-mu.

For the full list, please refer to the announcement of the Academic Affairs Office of National Sun Yat-sen University.

[79][80] Because the primary victims (politics, Cross-Strait relations, and public policy scholars) are associated with government think tanks, the invasion may have introduced a threat to national security.