[1] He won the jinshi degree in the imperial examinations in 1789 and was subsequently appointed to the Hanlin Academy.

He was known for his work Biographies of Astronomers and Mathematicians and for his editing the Shisan Jing Zhushu (Commentaries and Notes on the Thirteen Classics) for the Qing emperor.

He was the Viceroy of Liangguang, the most important imperial official in Canton (Guangzhou), during the critical years 1817–1826, just before the First Opium War with Britain.

His name is mentioned in almost all works on Qing history or Chinese classics because of the wide range of his research and publications.

Ruan Yuan was a follower of the Han Learning tradition and as such, with the encouragement of Liu Fenglu, he edited and organized publication of the compendium of the imperial achievements in kaozheng scholarship, the Huang Qing Jingjie (皇清经解) published in 1829.