The garden is the first national botanical garden established in 1929 in China. The original name was 'the Botanical Garden in Memory of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen', which was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the pioneer of Chinese democratic revolution. In 1954, it was renamed as Nanjing Botanical Garden in Memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Academia Sinica.

Located inside the Zhongshan National Scenic Area in the eastern suburb, this modern complex boasts of comprehensive functions including research, education and sight-seeing. It has featured plantations. It boasts of a living collection of over 3000 taxa and a total amount of 700,000 sheets of specimens. There are five research departments: the Ornamental Plant Research Center, the Medicinal Plant Research Center, the Plant Information Center, the Key Laboratory of Plant Ex-situ Conservation, and Herbarium (NAS).

With its fantanstic gardens and numerous plants, this botanic garden as one of the four major botanical gardens in China. It was also awarded the titles of State Base of Botanical Education and 'LangYuan', one of the forty-eight new famous scenic spots in Nanjing. Over 300,000 visitors both domestic and overseas come to the garden every year.