Beijing Sport University, established at the dawn of New China’s sports cause, has always borne the mission of "strengthening people’s physique of the nation internally and striving for national glory externally". Since its founding in 1953, the university has shared a common destiny with the development of China, setting industry standards through outstanding educational practices and marking China's position on the global map of higher sports education. The university is affiliated with the General Administration of Sport of China and is one of the first key national universities, a key construction university under the "211 Project", and a "Double First-Class" construction university in both the first and the new rounds. It is renowned both domestically and internationally for its long history, profound heritage, and outstanding achievements, becoming an important driving force in the vigorous development of China's sports cause.

Founded in 1953 as the Central Institute of Physical Education, BSU was renamed Beijing Institute of Physical Education in 1956, and then Beijing Sport University in 1993. Its main campus is located on Xinxi Road in Haidian district, Beijing, covering an area of 1,196.4 mu (about 80 hectares), with a building area of about 470,000 square meters and nearly one hundred indoor and outdoor training venues. Entering the new era, the university has outlined a strategic layout of "one university, three campuses", with the Beijing main campus as the foundation, Hainan International College as the growth point for internationalization and specialized programs, and Xiong'an campus in Xiong’an New Area, Hebei province as the highland for innovative and integrated development. The three campuses work together to build a new high-quality educational structure with multiple support points and deep integration.

The university has a comprehensive disciplinary system with distinctive educational features. It currently consists of four divisions: Academic Division of Sports and Health, Humanities and Social Sciences, Olympic Sports and Sports Engineering. Academic Division of Sports and Health includes the School of Education, the School of Psychology, among others; the Humanities and Social Sciences Division includes the School of Marxism, the School of Management, among others; the Olympic Sports Division includes the Sports Coaching College, the China Football College, among others; and the Sports Engineering Division has the School of Sports Engineering. On this basis, the university has established the "five-in-one" new development framework, which includes Beijing Sport University, Coaching Academy of General Administration of Sport of China (GASC), Chinese Olympic Academy, Party School of the General Administration of Sport of China (Sports Officials Training center of GASC), and Beijing Anti-Doping Laboratory. Among them, Coaching Academy of GASC, as the professional training institution for coaches directly under the administration, is an important base for the construction of the national coaching team; and Chinese Olympic Academy, as the only national-level Olympic academy in China, is an important hub for spreading the Olympic spirit and connecting China with the global Olympic movement.

The university adheres to the philosophy of quality education and distinctive education, maintaining a leading position in talent cultivation quality within the industry. It is one of the first doctoral degree-granting units among sports universities in China, with 34 undergraduate programs including sports education and sports training, among which there are 14 national first-class undergraduate program construction sites and eight provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites. The university's disciplines cover nine categories: education, law, economics, literature, science, engineering, medicine, management, and arts. The first-level discipline of sports science and all its subordinate second-level disciplines are national key disciplines, with one key second-level discipline in Beijing, one interdisciplinary key discipline in Beijing, and one high-precision construction discipline in Beijing universities. In national discipline evaluations, the sports discipline has consistently ranked first, receiving the highest rating of "A+", and maintaining a leading position in the fifth round of evaluations. The university has a first-level discipline doctoral degree authorization point in sports science, as well as master's degree authorization points in seven first-level disciplines: sports science, Marxist theory, education, psychology, public health and preventive medicine, public management, and journalism and communication. It also has a professional doctoral degree authorization point in sports, and master's professional degree authorization points in sports, journalism and communication, international Chinese education, business administration, electronic information, and applied psychology. The university has established the first postdoctoral research mobile station in sports science in the country. The university leads the cultivation of top-notch innovative sports talent and has established the first high-level talent training program specifically for Olympic champions, world champions, and their coaches — the Graduate Champions Class. On June 18, 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping sent a special letter to all students of the 2016 Graduate Champions Class of Beijing Sport University, encouraging them to contribute more to building a strong sports nation and to convey more positive energy to society.

The university advocates technological empowerment and innovation-driven development, using high-level sports technology to support the construction of a strong sports nation in the new era. The university has nine provincial and ministerial key laboratories, including the Key Laboratory of Exercise and Physical Fitness of the Ministry of Education and the Key Laboratory of Physical Training and Physical Recovery of the General Administration of Sport of China, and an anti-doping laboratory recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency — the Beijing Anti-Doping Laboratory. It also has one national sports science popularization base, one engineering research center of the Ministry of Education, one engineering research center of Beijing universities, one Beijing philosophical and social science base, two research bases of the General Administration of Sport of China, one training base of the Sports Science Society, one national experimental teaching demonstration center, and two experimental teaching demonstration centers of Beijing universities. The university actively serves national decision-making consultations in the sports field and has established the high-end think tank of the General Administration of Sport of China — China Sport Development Academy.

The university consistently adheres to the principle of cultivating people with virtue, placing talent cultivation at the center, and adheres to the "three-in-one" educational model of education, training, and research. It promotes the deep integration of sports with education, technology, and culture, cultivating and delivering high-quality new sports talent for the construction of a strong sports nation, a strong education nation, a healthy China, and a strong cultural nation. There are currently over 16,000 students at all levels at the university, including more than 9,800 undergraduates, over 3,500 postgraduates, and about 3,000 correspondence students. In the past five years, the employment rate of graduates has remained at a high level. Since its establishment, the university has trained more than 130,000 key personnel in the fields of school sports, competitive sports, sports science and technology, sports management, and sports industry for the country, and has produced a large number of outstanding sports experts, scholars, teachers, coaches, athletes, and management talent who are renowned both domestically and internationally. These contributions have been fully recognized by the Party and the nation, all sectors of society, and the international community. The university has been awarded the honorary titles of "Advanced Collective of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games" and "Outstanding Contribution Collective of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, as well as the "IOC Sport and Social Responsibility Award" by the International Olympic Committee. Three university presidents, Zhong Shitong, Ma Qiwei, and Jin Jichun, have respectively received the "Silver Olympic Order", the "IOC Sports and Study Trophy ", and the "IOC Sport and Education Trophy".

The university closely aligns with national strategic needs and the forefront of disciplinary development, hosting more than 220 national-level research projects (topics), including three national science and technology support programs, three National key R&D Programs "Science and Technology for the Beijing Winter Olympics" special projects, and three key special projects for active health and aging technology response. It has won more than 270 provincial and ministerial-level scientific research awards, including seven National Scientific and Technological Progress Awards. The Journal of Beijing Sport University, founded in 1966, is currently a core journal of Peking University, a source journal of the CSSCI of Nanjing University's Chinese Social Science Research Evaluation Center, a core journal of Science and Technology (Humanities and Social Sciences) by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, a core journal of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences, and an authoritative journal of Wuhan University's RCCSE. The Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise, founded in 2019, is currently indexed in the WOS Emerging Sources Citation Index and the Scopus Database, and has been selected for the 2023-2024 Chinese Science Citation Database foreign journal core library, and is an excellent international journal with Chinese international influence in 2023.

The university adheres to the concept of open education, gathering high-quality global resources, and its international reputation continues to rise. Since its establishment, the university has established cooperative relationships with 164 foreign higher education institutions and 20 international sports organizations in 53 countries and regions, and has trained more than 15,000 international students from 106 countries. Among them, Dr. Oleg Matytsin was elected president of the International University Sports Federation in 2015 and was appointed Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation in 2020. The university conferred a doctoral degree to Zlatko Matesa, former prime minister of Croatia and president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, and honorary doctoral degrees to seven internationally renowned figures, including former IOC President Jacques Rogge. It also awarded the title of "Honorary Professor" to eight individuals, including IOC Honorary Life President and former President Thomas Bach. Two foreign experts hired by the university have received the "Chinese Government Friendship Award". The university is an institution approved by the Ministry of Education to receive "Chinese Government Scholarship for International Students", a sponsoring institution for the National Construction of High-Level University Public Graduate Program, and a participating institution in the EU Education Committee's "Erasmus+" student and faculty exchange program. The university has established China's first non-independent legal entity Sino-foreign cooperative education institution in sports — Alberta International School of Recreation, Sport and Tourism of Beijing Sport University. Relying on its international education platform, the university coordinates high-quality international educational resources and has established a comprehensive international cooperation training mechanism from undergraduate to postgraduate levels, continuously enhancing the internationalization level of talent cultivation.

With 70 years of legacy, the university now opens a new chapter. Looking to the future, Beijing Sport University will be guided by the spirit of the 13th congress of the university’s CPC Committee, striving for innovation and perseverance. By 2035, it aims to fully establish itself as a world-class sports university with Chinese characteristics, creating a Chinese paradigm that leads global higher sports education reform. It seeks to become a globally influential center for higher sports education, a hub for high-end sports talent, a center for sports technology innovation, a center for sports culture dissemination, and a national high-end think tank platform, injecting tremendous power into the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and contributing Beijing Sport University's wisdom and solutions to the progress of human civilization.