The School of Life Sciences (SLS) at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), formerly the Department of Biology, was founded in 1924, making it one of the oldest biology departments in China. Equipped with excellent teaching and research facilities, SLS has expanded its research scope to encompass both traditional and cutting-edge areas in biology, including cell and molecular biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and interdisciplinary investigations in the life sciences.

Currently, SLS prioritizes two core areas: "life and health" and "bioresource security." Aligned with these priorities, the school focuses on diverse research fields such as life omics, immunology and aging, microbial intelligence and biocontrol, animal health and safety in aquaculture and livestock farming, and plant stress biology. Several research areas at SLS, such as molecular biology and genetics, and biology and biochemistry, are ranked among the top 0.1% of global universities by Essential Science Indicators (ESI), while botany and zoology are ranked among the top 1%.