The Physical Education Department of Harbin Institute of Technology was originally founded in 1950 as the Physical Education Teaching and Research Department.In the spring of 1950, physical education was officially included inthe compulsory coursesof HITstudents. Over the decades, the university leadership have always been concerned and attached importance to the development of physical education. Through the joint efforts of several generations of PE faculties, the sports department has comprehensively implemented the Party's educational policies, adhered to the school motto of Stringent Standards, Professional Proficiency, and carried forward traditions while actively innovating.  As a result,teaching,training,competition,faculty development, group activities, scientific research, stadium construction and other aspects of HIT sports have been continuously improved.

The Sports Department currently has 52 faculty members, including 4 professors, 1 researcher, 32 associate professors, 5 international referees, 4 master athletes, and 3 international master athletes. Chen Jin, a world badminton champion, and Zhang Hong, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and Sochi Winter Olympic speed skating champion in the women's 1,000 meters, are also among them. At the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Zhang Hong, the speed skating Olympic champion and the teacher of the Sports department of HIT, acted as the flag bearer, and Tao Yongchun, the freestyle skiing referee and the director of the sports department of HIT, took the oath as the sole referee representative and has shown China to the world. Another 21 teachers from the Sports Department have served as national technical officials for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, they were distributed in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track speed skating, curling (wheelchair curling) and other events to serve the Winter Olympic Games. Teacher Zhang Chunhui was awarded the titles of special contribution Individual and outstanding Communist Party Member of Beijing Winter Olympics.

The Sports Department consists of four teaching and research departments, four offices, five centers and three studios, which clearly divides the scope and tasks so that the work efficiency has been improved. Establish the education concept of health first, startfull physical education, help students toenjoy the pleasure , enhance physical fitness, improve personality, andstrengthen their willpower in physical exercise.More than 50 physical education courses of seven types are offered for undergraduates, 15 elective courses of cultural quality (core) are selected by the university, 1 national first-class undergraduate course is added, 2 provincial first-class undergraduate courses are added, and 6 online sports courses are launched. The total number of students was more than 200,000. On the basis of giving full play to the functions of the Sports Department, optimizing the mechanism, standardizing the management, and promoting the healthy development of students' sports, the Sports Department annually completes more than 20 intramural sports competitions, with 17,000 students participated. Besides, there are nearly 20 sports associations, societies and clubs under the Sports Department, with 10,000 students participated in the activities. In order to implement the school's Most Beautiful Winter Campus creation activity and build the No Ice and Snow, No HIT characteristic sports, the Sports Department has developed high-end and high-quality ice and snow characteristic courses such as ice skating, curling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snow soccer, snow football, and Yukigassen. In order to meet the goal that all freshmen and sophomores have special ice and snow courses to take, ice dragon boat, ice hockey, figure skating and other courses are also planned to be built. More importantly, the construction and reform of disciplines are constantly promoted, and new majors are being organized and carried out as planned (intelligent sports engineering, sports training).In order to carry out sunshine sports extensively, the Sports Department leads the improvement of campus competitive sports with the drive of sports teams. In order to carry out sunshine sports extensively, the Sports Department leads the improvement of campus competitive sports with the drive of sports teams. HIT has 5 high-level sports teams and 13 Sunshine Group sports teams. The sports team has been training hard all year round, actively participating in national and provincial competitions and achieving excellent results. In recent years, it has won more than 20 national championships and more than 60 provincial championships.

Virtue is nurtured with wisdom, like the gentle rain that moistens all in silence. On the new long march of sports people in the new era, the Sports Department of HIT will always remember the original intention of educating people for the Party and the mission of educating talents for the country.It will conscientiously study and implement the series of important expositions and instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on sports work, bear in mind the important entrustment of with missions on our shoulders, let us strive together, fulfill the requirement to take the lead and work hard, consciously link the development of sports with national development, and guide teachers, students, and staff to firmly establish the lofty ideal of communism, promote the Chinese sports spirit, and fulfill the socialist core values, thereby contributing more effectively to education and the development of a powerful sports nation with greater educational outcomes.