Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being known for the discovery of insulin, stem cells and the site of the first single and double lung transplants in the world.

Flexner praised the "high quality of instruction" offered at Toronto and noted that its equipment "among the best on the continent".

The final two years form the clerkship curriculum that takes place in hospitals and ambulatory clinics.

Additional rotations are devoted to elective clerkships that provide training in subdisciplines within the major specialities.

The Faculty of Medicine is subdivided into 26 separate departments: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Family and Community Medicine, Immunology, Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Medical Biophysics, Medical Imaging, the Institute of Medical Science, Medicine, Molecular Genetics, Nutritional Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Paediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physical Therapy, Physiology, Psychiatry, Radiation Oncology, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, Speech-Language Pathology and Surgery.

The Faculty of Medicine is also the only medical school in the Greater Toronto Area and operates a health network that comprises twelve teaching hospitals with significant emphasis on tertiary care, including medical treatment, research and advisory services to patients and clients from Canada and abroad.

On April 7, 2022, the University of Toronto announced a partnership with American biotechnology company Moderna intended to develop new tools to prevent and treat infectious diseases, collaborating with researchers in the fields of molecular genetics, biomedical engineering, and biochemistry.

[18] While not exclusively regarding the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, in 2023, NATURE ranked the University of Toronto 3rd in the world for Health sciences [19]