The State Key Laboratory of Tribology (SKLT) at Tsinghua University was founded by Chinese Government in 1986, and consequently passed the government assessment in 1988. The laboratory operates on the policy that the director takes the full responsibility of administration under the supervising of academic committee. On approval of the Ministry of Education, Professor Xie Youbai from Xian Jiaotong University is appointed as the chairman of the academic committee and Professor Chen Darong from Tsinghua University is the director of SKLT. 

Tribology covers a research area of multi-disciplines, which is mainly grounded on mechanics, surface science and technology, tribo-materials and tribo-chemistry, with a connection to different science branches, such as fluid and solid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, rheology, applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, material science and information theory. By means of the mechanical, material and surface science, the task of tribology is to reveal the inherent mechanism of friction and lubrication, to explore new theories and applications, and to develop technologies for tribological design, friction reduction and wear resistance. The achievements have to be applied to the engineering practice for the purpose of less energy loss, longer life times and better mechanical performance, and for solving the problems in friction, wear and lubrication under various operation conditions.  

The State Key Laboratory of Tribology has 23 staffs and 14 research fellows, of which 7 are Professors and 6 are Associate Professors.  Young staffs below the age of 45 constitute 73 percent of the academic staffs.  11 young staffs have Ph.D. degree, 91.7 percent of the total young staffs.  The laboratory has Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member of  Russian Academy of Engineering, Foreign Member of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and of Belarusian Academy of Engineering Technologies, Cheung Kong Scholar of Ministry of Education P.R.C., Recipients of the Excellent Young Researchers of Natural Science Foundation of China and the Trans-Century Training Programmme Foundation for the Talents by Ministry of Education.  The laboratory has close contact and frequent academic exchange with international academic circles, and organizes large international academic conferences regularly.  The research carried out in the laboratory has great influence among the international academic circles in the same field.