The National Natural Science Foundation of China usually evaluates a project according to the references listed in the project application, but the completeness of the references is not the main criterion for evaluating the project. When evaluating the applied projects, the Foundation mainly pays attention to academic innovation, rationality of research ideas and feasibility of experimental design.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China will also consider many factors when evaluating projects, including the applicant's academic background and research ability, the practicability and application prospect of the applied projects, etc.