Xiamen University, colloquially known as Xia Da, located in Xiamen, Fujian province, is the first university in China founded by overseas Chinese. Before 1949, it was originally known as the University of Amoy. The school motto is "Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection". The university is one of many comprehensive universities directly administered by the Chinese Ministry of Education. In 1995 it was included in the list of the 211 Project for the state key construction; in 2000 it became one of China's higher-level universities designated for the state key construction of the 985 Project.

According to University Undergraduates Teaching Assessment and Chinese Universities Evaluation Standings, the university is ranked 11th in China, which is outside the top then and has maintained the top 20 ranking in China, among which 6 subjects reach A++ level, including economics and management, music, law, chemistry, journalism, communication and mathematics.

At present, Xiamen University's 3 campuses cover over 524.5 hectares. Xiamen University has a constructed area of 1.35 million square meters and its libraries hold 4.11million volumes, including 1 million electronic volumes. The scope and level of its high-speed information network on campus is rated at the top of all universities in China and has become the one of the main injunctions of CERNET. Xiamen University is now making great strides towards its goal of "building a high-level university well-known both at home and abroad."