The Department of Pharmacology is one of the earliest departments established in Capital Medical University. In 1981, Pharmacology was one of the first major authorized to confer the Master's degrees. Since 2002, it was continuously selected as a key construction subject in Beijing. And in 2012, it was rated as a key subject in Beijing. It was approved as a first level of pharmacy and second level of pharmacology doctoral authorization site in 2011. In 2015, pharmacology and toxicology disciplines entered the top 1% of ESI global rankings. And now, pharmacology and toxicology disciplines entered the top 0.58‰ of ESI global rankings. After more than 60 years of development, the overall level is equivalent to that of domestic exemplary organization.

The department currently has 17 staff members, including 7 professors, 5 associate professors, 2 lecturers, and 3 technicians. All teachers have a doctoral degree, and most of them have postdoctoral or overseas study experiences.

The department focuses on the pharmacological investigations of neurological and psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, tumors and drug metabolism. It emphasizes drug research based on targets and action mechanisms, as well as the acquisition of intellectual property rights for innovative drugs and new formulations. The researches emphasize the pursuit of academic excellence and the exploration of cutting-edge academic research. Adhere to the concepts of "translational medicine" and "precision medicine", highlight the deep integration of basic and clinical medicine, and strengthen midstream translational research. The aim of the department is strengthening the construction of academic teams, highlighting the "plateau peak" of the subject, forming a high-level pharmacology teaching and research team and talent training base, and playing a very important role as a backbone bridge for cultivating a large number of qualified physicians and pharmacists in the country and Beijing region.

In recent years, the pharmacology department has undertaken more than 20 projects including the Programs of National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Major New Drug Special Projects, and various provincial, ministerial, and municipal level projects, has applied for and obtained more than 20 national invention patents with 3 new drug transformations. The department has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed high-quality international journals (e.g. Circulation and Acta PharmaceuticaSinica B), and received 7 provincial-level scientific and technological achievement awards.

The department undertakes 9 courses each year, including pharmacology theory courses and experimental courses of various levels and majors, including PhD candidates, postgraduate candidates, undergraduate students, international students, and continuing education college students. Teaching content is focused on optimizing the structure of the course, selecting teaching content, actively practicing heuristic, discussion based, and research-based teaching methods with a variety of education related publications. It has published over 20 monographs, translations, and textbooks, such as "Fundamentals of Medical Pharmacology", "Nursing Pharmacology", and the English version of the Pharmacology textbook "Pharmacology". Professor Jin Youyu has published "New Pharmacology" and "The Pharmacological Basis of Goodman Gilman's Therapeutics" as the chief editor and translator for multiple consecutive editions. In addition, as a member of the National Pharmacopoeia Committee, he compiled the National Pharmacopoeia and Clinical Medication Guidelines. In graduate education, Pharmacology department has also achieved remarkable comments, with widespread praise from employers.