Harbin Engineering University (HEU) originates from the PLA Military Institute of Engineering, which was established in 1953. It is one of the first batch of key universities under the national “Project 211”, and the university under the national “Project 985” advantageous discipline innovation platform projects and it has entered the national "Double First-Class" construction ranks. Now under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it has become an important talent training and scientific research base in the fields of national "three seas and one nuclear" (shipbuilding industry, naval equipment, marine development, nuclear energy application).

Nanhai Institute of Harbin Engineering University is located in Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya. It is an entity with a high degree of integration between human resources training and industrial technology research and an emphasis institution of the Ministry of Education to support Hainan Province in deepening the reform of educational system. It is an important part of Harbin Engineering University in building a world-class university with distinctive characteristics.

Nanhai Institute of Harbin Engineering University is jointly founded by The Education Department of Hainan Province and The People’s Government of Sanya City. adhering to the concept of "the needs of national, the strength of HEU", targeting the needs of Hainan Free Trade Port Construction, fully integrating the advantages of Hainan and HEU, focusing on south china sea rights maintenance equipment technology, deep-sea information technology, deep-sea energy and resource development equipment technology, marine ecological protection and marine tourism equipment technology, etc., carrying out deep-sea equipment technological innovation and application, conducting independent technological innovation in the field of deep-sea, promoting high-level international cooperation, cultivating high-level talents in the field of deep-sea, and contributing to the construction of a maritime power, Hainan Free Trade Port construction and the local economic and social development.

Nanhai Institute focuses on the construction needs of national strategy and Hainan Free Trade Port, gathering international talents. And strives to build a deep-sea science and technology talent attraction and training base, a deep-sea science and technology and equipment innovation experimental base, and a practical innovation base for cultivation of graduate students in marine related disciplines.