In accordance with its motto of "dedication to the public interest, acquisition of all-round capability, and aspiration for daily progress", the University has produced sets of prominent talent like Dr. Shiing-shen Chern, one of the world's master mathematicians, "Father of Chinese Physics" Dr. Ta-you Wu, and Chinese-born atomic and nuclear theoretical physicist and Chinese playwright Cao Yu.

Providing a balance between Humanities and Sciences, Nankai is considered to be one of the comprehensive universities with the widest span of disciplines. Currently the University has a total of 21,905 students enrolled, including 6,357 master's candidates, 3,049 doctoral candidates, 1,048 foreign students and 8,095 students on distance learning programmes.