Located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Southwest Jiaotong University is a national key university directly under the Ministry of education of the people's Republic of China. It is ranked among the first world-class discipline construction universities, 211 projects and 985 engineering advantage discipline innovation platforms. It is selected as the innovation capacity promotion plan, discipline innovation and guidance plan of high-grade schools, and education and training plan for excellent engineers The national innovative experimental plan for college students, the national project for building high-level university public graduate students, new engineering research and practice projects, Chinese government scholarship to China for overseas students receiving institutions, the first batch of national innovation and entrepreneurship education reform demonstration universities, national university students cultural quality education base, National University Practice Education Innovation and entrepreneurship base The first batch of scientific and technological achievements transformation and technology transfer bases of institutions of higher learning are members of the alliance of elite universities of China and Europe and training units of Tibet aid programs[

The school started in 1896, Shanhaiguan Beiyang railway official school, and has been relocated repeatedly and renamed several times. It has been famous at home and abroad by Tangshan Jiaotong University, and has been known as 'Oriental Cornell', especially in civil engineering and mining and metallurgy. In 1952, the Department of economics was adjusted and renamed Tangshan railway college, and the training of special personnel for rail transit was conducted. In 1964, the school moved to Emei, and was named Southwest Jiaotong University in 1972. In 1989, the main body of school running moved to Chengdu. In 2000, the school was assigned to the Ministry of education.

As of November 2019, the school has three campuses, namely, Xipu, Jiuli and Emei, covering an area of more than 5000 mu; There are graduate schools and 2 Graduate Schools in different places (Qingdao graduate school and Tangshan Graduate School); There are 26 colleges and 1 affiliated hospital; It has 2 national key disciplines of primary discipline and 10 national key disciplines of secondary discipline; It has 19 first-class doctoral programs, 3 professional doctorates and 40 master's degree points of primary disciplines; It has 11 post doctoral research mobile stations; There are 2448 full-time teachers, 29025 full-time undergraduates, 10489 master's students, 2364 doctoral students and 900 international students.