The Institute of Applied Mathematics was founded in 1979, by the prominent Chinese mathematician, Professor Hua Loo-keng. Based mainly on fundamental theoretical research, it is engaged in the mathematical theoretical research with practical backgrounds, develops and creates some mathematical branches and methods with universal significance in the natural sciences, high technology, economy and finance, management decision and other fields, to serve for the national economic construction.

From trends in the development of modern sciences in the world, applied mathematics and relevant disciplines are playing an important role in the economic development. So, they develop very fast. For instance, operations research, statistics, differential equations and computational mathematics all belong to applied mathematics category. In addition, applied mathematics also includes many interdisciplines such as biomathematics, financial mathematics, engineering mathematics, and many branches of the decision-making science and the environmental science which are all related closely with applied mathematics. Economic development has promoted the development of these subjects.

There are 49 researchers in the Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) including 3 Academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 30 Research Professors, 12 Associated Research Professors, 4 Research Professors from the ''Hundred Talents Program'', 4 holders of the State Outstanding Youth Fund. In addition, there are 14 postdoctoral fellows and 4 winners of the Overseas Outstanding Youth Fund. Since its foundation, the institute has been focused on operations research, probability and statistics, and differential equations. Thus, our institute is of clear advantages in these fields and has a group of national-leading researchers in the fields. In particular, the institute is of international impact in some subfields such as stochastic analysis, combinatorial mathematics and nonlinear evolution equations. At the same time, according to the international developing trend of applied mathematics and the need for the national economic development, the institute pays attention to many interdisciplines such as management and decision-making science, mathematical physics, financial mathematics, bioinformatics. Our institute is capable of granting the degrees of doctors and masters, and has centers for postdoctoral studies.