The Department is mainly engaged in research on nuclear energy and nuclear safety design and key technologies, with emphasis on reactor design and analysis, numerical simulation and software engineering, safety assessment technology, experimental research on key equipment and engineering technologies, and medical radiation physics and technology research.

The Department has led and undertaken more than 50 projects, including the National Key R&D Program of China, the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Relevant research achievements in which it participated have won more than 10 important awards, including the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award.