On the traditional strength of ship and ocean engineering, Dalian University of Technology ranks second in many folk rankings, and ranks among the top three in China with Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tianda.

Among these folk rankings, the professional ranking of Harbin Engineering University is not very high. It is not consistent with the actual strength and reputation of the school, which also shows that the ranking is not credible.

Harbin Engineering University inherited most of Harbin's military possessions. At present, the fields of "three seas and one core" (shipbuilding industry, naval equipment, marine development and nuclear energy application) that the school focuses on are all extraordinary in strength. Military products are Harbin Institute of Technology's strong point. They are not only famous for the first experimental submarine, the first hydrofoil, the first shipboard computer, the first set of strip bathymeter and other dozens of major scientific research achievements that fill the gaps in China, but also won the first place in the world with achievements such as double submersible, hovercraft and gradient sound velocity instrument. It has gradually become one of the main forces in the basic and applied research of ship science and technology in China and one of the key units in the development of advanced naval technology and equipment. In addition, the school is jointly built by the Science, Technology and Industry Committee for National Defense, the Ministry of Education, Heilongjiang Province and the Navy, so the research funds have been continuously flowing. The research and development of various civil high-tech ships also maintains a strong technical reserve, and underwater robots, ship anti-rolling, integrated navigation, underwater acoustic positioning, nuclear power simulation and other technologies are in a leading position at home or abroad.

However, because Harbin, a northern country, is far less attractive to talents than the economically developed eastern coastal cities, there is a shortage of talents. However, in recent years, the publicity of the school has increased, and the development speed is quite amazing. Its strength and influence in the industry are not lost to Jiaotong University.