Chongqing Jiaotong University (CQJTU) was established in 1951, in response to the call of Chairman Mao to build a road from Sichuan to Tibet and develop Southwest China, which was then named Southwest Transportation Technological Academy. The name of Chongqing Jiaotong University, was finally adopted in 2006.

Nan’an Campus and Science City Campus together occupy an area of nearly 200 hectares in total and over 820,000 m2 school buildings. Nearly 2,200 faculty members, including over 1,500 full-time teachers（among them, over 870 with senior titles）are employed to server for the university.

At present, the university has 20 schools (departments), with faculties in science, engineering, humanities, law, philosophy, economics, management and art, offering doctoral, master and bachelor programs for around 30,000 full-time students. The University is focusing on "Transportation+" education to pursue creative ways to produce the best minds. The initial employment rate for undergraduates has exceeded 90% for 25 years consecutively.

Currently, the University has 3 national key research platforms, including the State Key Laboratory of Bridge and Tunnel Engineering in Mountainous Areas, the National Research Center of Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering and Technology, and the National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Transportation and Civil Engineering Materials, 42 provincial and ministerial-level platforms and more than 20 R&D institutions.

The University has established cooperative links with around 100 universities and institutions around the world, initiated the Sino-Polish University Consortium under the "Belt and Road Initiative" and founded two Confucius Institutes in Benin and the United States respectively. The university is qualified to offer "Chinese Government Scholarship" and the "International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship" for international students, and has run 6 joint programs cooperating with universities in the UK and Australia, and operate 3 programs outside China cooperating with universities and institutions in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Benin.

With the motto of "Virtues in Mind & Transport Worldwide"and the tradition of "Paving Stone Spirit", the university is dedicated to establish an internationally renowned distinctive university , which will consistently contribute to the transportation industry, the local economy, and social development.