The discipline of Rheumatology in Renji Hospital was founded in 1979, which is one of the very first established specialty divided from internal medicine in China mainland. Currently, the department of Rheumatology encompass Individualized Immunotherapy Center, State key clinical specialty Center for Rheumatology, Shanghai Rheumatology clinical center supported by Shanghai municipal education commission and health bureau, training center for graduated and post-graduated trainees in rheumatology. Shanghai institute of rheumatology, Shanghai practicing Rheumatology quality control center, the Biobank for rheumatic diseases and national GCP clinical trial center (rheumatology and immunology). There are more than 40 RCTs including international multi-center RCT and pilot IIT studies, as well as more than 10 cutting-edge cell therapy trials, which are currently conducting. The department is also the residency and fellowship training base for Rheumatology. It ranks the 3rd place nation-wide as the most prestigious rheumatology center in China.  

 At present, the department has 126 beds, including 8 ICU beds for rheumatic diseases which is unique in the region. Another 10 beds are specialized for GCP clinical research. The number of discharged patients exceeds 5000 annually. It serves as a referral center and critically ill patients such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),  dermatomyositis and vasculitis are frequently got transferred to this institute. The annual number of outpatient visits is 300,000, ranking first in the country for many years.

In the past 5 years, the department has gained 45 national or provincial grants and have published about 300 articles in peer-reviewed top-tier journals such as NEJM, Science, Nature, Cell.  The department has established long-term cooperative relations with internationally renowned universities and research institutions such as Cincinnati Children's Medical Center, Stanford University, University of Washington, Australian National University, University of Manchester, University of Zurich, Switzerland, University of Erlangen in Germany, and University of Strasbourg.

 The department has 11 leading PIs and 46 registered rheumatologists distributed in different sub-specialties.  The mission of the department is to conduct forefront clinical research, to provide best care for patients with rheumatic conditions, to nurture outstanding young professionals.