Tsinghua University has a fine tradition in sports, and the slogan "to work healthily for the motherland for fifty years" has deeply influenced generations of Tsinghua students. A group of outstanding sports thinkers and educators, including Ma Yuehan and Xia Xiang, made significant contributions to the development of modern sports in China. As the functional department for sports at the university, the Department of Physical Education shoulders the important responsibilities of promoting sports, improving student health, enhancing physical fitness, and fostering well-rounded students. It has continued to grow and develop over the past century while upholding its fine traditions.

In 1912, Tsinghua School established the Department of Physical Education and began implementing "compulsory exercise, requiring students to pass a "five-item test. Those who failed physical education were not permitted to study abroad. In 1919, the gymnasium (the old gymnasium) was completed, and physical education classes were formally introduced. The first two directors of the department were Americans (with doctoral degrees). Ma Yuehan came to work at Tsinghua in 1914 and served as the Director of the Department of Physical Education starting in 1920. After the nationwide university restructuring in 1952, the department was renamed the Physical Education Teaching and Research Group. It was renamed the Physical Education Teaching and Research Office in 1979, the Department of Physical Education Teaching and Research in 1994, and reverted to the Department of Physical Education in 2008. As of 2019, the nine directors in the department's history were: A. Shoemaker, D. K. Brace, Ma Yuehan, Xia Xiang, Liu Huaxuan (acting), Cao Baoyuan, Chen Weiqiang, Wang Peiyong, and Liu Bo. The secretaries of the department's Party Branch (General Party Branch) after 1983 include: Liu Huaxuan, Wang Yi, Zheng Xiuyuan, Zhang Wei, Zhang Rongguo, Zhang Bing, Qiu Jun, Liu Bo, and Ma Xindong.

The department currently has 62 faculty members, including 14 professors, 34 associate professors, 2 assistant professors, 8 lecturers, and 4 teaching assistants. Among the faculty, 18 hold doctoral degrees, 23 hold master's degrees, and 21 hold bachelor's degrees. The team includes 11 doctoral supervisors, 6 international referees, and 3 national team coaches. To further strengthen its faculty, enhance the quality of its teaching staff, promote disciplinary development, and better leverage the important role of physical education in shaping student values, the department responded to the university's call and initiated a personnel system reform in 2013. After the reform, faculty members in the department are categorized into two tracks: the teaching track (including mass sports and athletic coaching positions) and the teaching and research track. Currently, there are 45 faculty members on the teaching track and 10 on the teaching and research track.

Over more than a century of development, from "compulsory exercise" and the "five-item test" to the "Ready for Labor and Defense" national defense sports program, and now to a physical education model that runs throughout the entire undergraduate experience, the department has always strived to explore and advance.

Tsinghua currently requires four years of physical education for all undergraduates. It also stipulates that undergraduates must be tested in long-distance running (3000 meters for men, 1500 meters for women). Students cannot graduate if they fail their physical education courses or the swimming test. Nearly 50 different types of physical education courses are offered, covering competitive sports (Olympic events), recreational sports, traditional Chinese sports, and physical therapy. Elective PE courses are also available for graduate students. In 2004, University Physical Education was named a National Elite Course; in 2018, the department received a National Award for Teaching Achievement.

The department actively organizes mass sports activities, including the "Ma Yuehan Cup" Student Track and Field Games, the Freshmen Games, and the Campus Marathon. These events form a year-round system of mass competitions, attracting 50,000 participants annually. All undergraduates participate in the National Student Physical Health Test each year. Since 2011, a physical fitness test has been added to the independent admissions process, which has had a positive social impact and a leading effect.

From the university's inception, the department, under the guidance of the school, has emphasized the development of sports teams. Jointly managed by the department and the University Youth League Committee, Tsinghua's sports teams have become the largest and most comprehensive student athletic teams among Chinese universities. They are divided into three categories (A, B, and C) and consist of over 1,200 members across 53 teams in 44 sports. Among them, the three high-level teams—track and field, basketball, and shooting—have achieved outstanding results in various national and international competitions, winning multiple gold medals at the National Games of China, the Asian Games, and the World University Games. Enrolled students have also competed in the Beijing, London, and Rio Olympic Games. To date, the department has cultivated nearly 100 Masters of Sports, including 12 International Masters of Sports.

In recent years, Tsinghua has incorporated sports into its disciplinary development framework. The department has successively established the "Tsinghua University Research Center for Sports and Health Science" and successfully applied for the "Key Research Base of Sport Humanities and Social Sciences of the General Administration of Sport of China. It has established a master's program, a doctoral program, and a postdoctoral research station, and has developed Physical Education into a first-level discipline. To date, it has enrolled and trained over 300 doctoral and master's students, completed nearly 70 national and ministerial-level research projects with funding of approximately 23 million RMB, published nearly 60 monographs, and presented over 700 papers in domestic and international professional journals and scientific conferences, including nearly 40 indexed by SCI and EI, and has secured 33 patents. It has ranked among the top in four consecutive Ministry of Education Discipline Assessments.

Tsinghua's sports facilities have expanded from the original West Gymnasium to a current scale of over 220,000 square meters, primarily centered around four areas: the East, West, North, and Zijing Sports Fields. These provide excellent conditions for physical education classes, team training, extracurricular exercise, and competitions for students and faculty. The North Gymnasium and Ice Sports Center, with a total area of 40,000 square meters, are currently under construction. The department has established a dedicated body—the Venues Management Center—to scientifically manage all work related to its sports facilities.

In the new century of Tsinghua sports, all faculty and staff of the department will carry forward its fine traditions with a spirit of enterprise, innovation, science, and pragmatism. They will keep pace with the times to promote the comprehensive development of sports at Tsinghua, ensuring that it not only remains an important part of the university's education but also becomes a significant pillar of support for sports in the nation and society.