ZUEL is equipped with a contingent of qualified teaching and research faculty. Up to now, ZUEL has over 2500 faculty members, among which there are more than 1500 full-time teachers, 900 professors, and associate professors and nearly 270 doctoral supervisors. Eleven people from ZUEL were crowned as Leading Talents at the National Level and 15 as Young Talents at the National Level,8 were elected as members of the Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education, 12 were awarded the title of National Model Teacher, National Outstanding Teacher, National Outstanding Educator, Top National Higher Education Teacher, National Advanced Workers in the Education System or National Women’s Model Workers in the Education System,89 experts enjoy the special allowances of the State Council. ZUEL also boasts two Huang Danian role-model teaching teams (named after the late renowned geophysicist in honor of his contribution to the country), one National Outstanding Young Jurist, four experts titled as Jingchu Masters in Social Sciences by Hubei Provincial Committee and Hubei Provincial Government for their contributions in humanities and social sciences, and thirteen hosts in Hubei Distinguished Teacher Workshop.

ZUEL takes the lead in scientific research innovations with outstanding achievements. In recent years, the number of projects approved by the National Social Science Fund of China in ZUEL has taken the lead among the institutes of higher education in our country, ranking first among the institutes of economics or law. Over the past decade, ZUEL has undertaken over 1600 items of key projects at the state, provincial, and ministerial levels, made over 15,000 in total Scientific Research Achievements, and over 2,000 achievements related to think tanks and social services. In the 13th Five-Year Plan period, ZUEL has harvested 18 awards in Science Research Famous Achievement Award in Higher Institution (Humanities and Social Sciences) from the Ministry of Education, and two results awarded “significant achievements in scientific and technological innovation in higher institution over the past 40 years of reform and opening up” by the Ministry of Education. The Journal of Law and Business Studies, sponsored by ZUEL, ranked among the top core journals in law and was selected as one of the Top 100 Newspapers in China. The Journal of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law was awarded the title of “Authoritative Social Science Journal of National Universities” and “Authoritative Academic Journal with International Influence in China”.

ZUEL merits a strong sense of responsibility to serve the society. ZUEL has been active in meeting China's major strategic needs, taking the lead in drafting and revising over 40 laws at national level. In the positive interaction with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, State Administration of Taxation, National Bureau of Statistics, National Intellectual Property Administration and the Development Research Centre of the State Council, ZUEL has built a batch of high-quality think tanks, offering a series of constructive advice that contributes to decision-making on the country’s fiscal reform, legal construction, financial innovation, intellectual property protection and social governance. The university now owns one Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences administered by the Ministry of Education, four bases of the Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project (111 Project) launched by the Ministry of Education, one National Research Laboratory for Smart Governance (Elderly Care Service).Meanwhile, the university has jointly established 24 high-level academic platforms with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the National Intellectual Property Administration and other ministries, commissions and provincial units. Seven think tanks have been selected as the source think tanks of Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI), and four think tanks have consistently ranked among the Top 100 University Think Tanks of CTTI. ZUEL also contributed to the ecological governance in Yichang in Hubei Province as its Co-Innovation Center for Social Governance of Urban and Rural Communities took a leading role in Yichang Trial, a successful project for ecological governance in Three Gorges Ecological and Economic Cooperation Zone, of which President Xi Jinping spoke highly when he inspected the city in April, 2018. The first CCB Academy was established in cooperation with China Construction Bank to build a new strategic alliance between industry, academia, and research. It has been approved as a State-level Continuing Education Base for Professionals and Technicians and has been included in the list of key tasks for building a learning society by the Ministry of Education in 2023.

ZUEL embraces globalization and commits to collaborative development. ZUEL has established cooperation and exchange relations with more than 100 universities and research institutions in more than 20 countries and regions.

ZUEL programs were selected on the funding lists of Innovation & Practice Program for the Cultivation of Globally Competitive Talents of the Ministry of Education, International Legal Talent Collaborative Cultivation and Innovation Base (Cultivation), High-end Foreign Experts Recruitment Plan and The Young Foreign Talent Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and International Cooperative Training Programs for Innovative Talents and Reserve Talents Training Program for International Organizations of China Scholarship Council (CSC), and Talent Support Program for International and Regional Studies. Also, ZUEL is one of the first pilot universities of the Overseas Program for Academics in the International Organization of CSC. In 2017 and 2019, the Austrian Branch and Serbian Branch of the ZUEL Institute of Income Distribution and Public Finance were set up respectively in the University of Novi Sad in Serbia and the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. In 2022, the ZUEL-SUR School of Law and Economics, co-established by ZUEL and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, received the official approval of the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, ZUEL has actively supported the teachers in carrying out international research cooperation projects. For instance, teachers of ZUEL actively participated in the Roman Jurists (Scriptores iuris Romani) project of the European Research Council and participated in the legislative research of International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Model Law on Factoring.Several professors serve as consulting experts for the World Bank loan Project of the Ministry of Finance, and hold positions as consultants or advisors in international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNIDROIT. Many students have gone to international organizations for internships. In addition, nine courses of ZUEL have been rated as national and provincial brand courses for overseas students.

ZUEL is immersed in a beautiful environment and infused with a humanistic atmosphere. ZUEL is composed of two campuses, the Nanhu campus and the Shouyi campus, covering an area of over 2,800 mu (187 hectares) with a gross floor area of 1,200,000 square meters. The Nanhu campus is on the bank of the picturesque Nanhu Lake, and the Shouyi campus is at the foot of the Yellow Crane Tower, one of the four great ancient towers of China. The library has over 3.48 million volumes of paper books, over 4.67 million volumes of electronic books, over 3.73 million volumes of electronic periodicals, 68 databases of Chinese and foreign academic literature resources, and 586 sub-databases. ZUEL has built the Museum of Chinese Monetary and Financial History and the Museum of Chinese Accounting History. Our sports ground was used as the main sports field for the fourth National University Games and the stadium for Chinese Football Association China League. With these excellent facilities, ZUEL has been holding a broad series of “the second classroom” activities themed on academic research, innovation and entrepreneurship, liberal arts, and volunteer work to promote the full development of students.

Going forward, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, ZUEL will continue to cultivate talents for the Party and the state by building itself into a world-class university where economics and law are fully integrated.Through high-quality development, it will better serve the construction of the leading country in education and the Chinese path to modernization.