Jiangsu has a tradition of attaching great importance to science and technololy and education. It boasts for the excellent learned people in its history such as Zu Chongzhi, great scientist in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (the 5th to 6th centuries A.D.), Huang Daopo, textile technology renovator in Yuan Dynasty (the 13th century), Xu Guangqi, scientist, and, Xu Xiake, geographer, in Ming Dynasty (the 14th to 17th centuries), and Hua Luogeng, mathematician, and Wu Jianxiong, Physicist, in modern time. In recent years, Jiangsu sticks to the principle as to make science and technology as precursor and to develop education preferentially; hence, it is a province at a relatively high level of science and education in China. " To Prosper Jiangsu with Science & Education" has been considered as one of the three main strategies on Jiangsu's economic and social development.

Following Beijing and Shanghai, Jiangsu takes the country's third place in scientific and technological power and scientific researching ability. It has 416 independent research and development institutes attached to the government, 383 subsidiary scientific research institutes of colleges and universities and 1600 scientific research institutes run by large-or-medium-scaled industrial enterprises. In Jiangsu, altogether 46 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 25 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 205,000 of scientists and engineers form the rationally-schemed developing system combining elementary, application and development research to engineering designing, experimental demonstration and generalization. Jiangsu also pays much attention to the transformation of scientific researching fruits to practical productivity. The scientific contribution occupies a share of 51.8% and 36% in the province's development of agricultural and industrial economy respectively.

The educational base in Jiangsu is quite good. Governments at all levels place education at the prior position for development. By now Jiangsu has formed a multileveled and multi-typed educational system including pre-schooling, elementary, special, professional, high-leveled and adult education and an urban and rural educational network. It is the first to gain ground of the Nine-Year Compulsory Education among the country's provinces with the populace coverage of 100%. 98% of Jiangsu citizens in their prime of life are literate. Jiangsu has 127 special education schools so that over 60% of handicapped children of the right age can receive compulsory education. The adult education also develops further. Jiangsu now has 65 institutions of higher learning. The number of its at-school postgraduates, undergraduates and junior college students ranks the first in China. The number of its full-time college teachers ranks the second in the country. Nanjing University, Southeast University, Hohai University, Nanjing Aeronautical & Aerospace University, Nanjing Agriculture University and China's Mining University are all well-known both home and abroad.