The Department of Neurology of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (hereinafter referred to as the “Third Affiliated Hospital of SYSU”) was established based on the Professional Group of Neurology in 1978. After the arduous struggle of the older generation of neurologists, especially since the establishment of the Department of Neurology in 1998, under the leadership of the original Director of Professor Hu Xueqiang, and current director of Professor Lu Zhengqi, and through more than 20 years of unremitting efforts by colleagues of the entire department, at present, it has formed a strong comprehensive discipline integrating cerebrovascular diseases, neuroimmune diseases, central nervous system infection, neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson's disease, cognitive disorder, epilepsy), neuropathology and neurocritical illness. In addition, the Department of Neurology has been assigned as the neurological professional doctor and master training center of Sun Yat-sen University, postdoctoral research center, resident training base of Ministry of Health. The Department of Neurology was awarded the National Key Discipline in 2007, was approved as the national clinical trial pharmacological base in 2008, was awarded the Clinical Key Specialty in Guangdong Province in 2012, was awarded the High-level Clinical Key Specialty in 2019, was honored as the National Advanced Stroke Center in 2019, lead the construction of a national neurological regional medical center since 2019, and was listed in the China's Hospital Rankings released by Fudan University in 2020.

There is 139 authorized professorial medical and technical staff, including 8 with senior title, 19 with associate senior title, 19 attending physicians, 4 training physicians, 11 post-doctors, 15 nurses-in-charge, 40 nurse practitioners, 13 nurses, 4 EP technicians, 1 assistant research fellow, 2 laboratory technicians, 3 research assistants, 1 teaching assistant, 1 management personnel. Moreover, there are 5 doctoral advisors and 11 postgraduate tutors. Two postdoctors, more than 70 doctoral students and more than 100 postgraduate students have been cultivated.

There are four inpatient areas (Tianhe [Neurology Area I, Neurology Area II], Lingnan, Yuedong, Zhaoqing), with more than 230 open beds (including 18 beds for the ICU of the Department of Neurology), and about 10,000 cases could be admitted every year. The neurological emergency is established to provide emergency services for about 30,000 cases every year. In a week, 35 units of expert clinic and 14 units of special clinic are available, with about 130,000 outpatients every year. Patients come from all over China and Southeast Asia.

Under the guidance of the overall outline of the high-level specialized department, through giving full play to the multi-disciplinary and multi-unit (basic and clinical, domestic and international) cooperation model and in combination with the need of sustainable development of discipline and the demand of social talent training, the Department of Neurology is committed to building this department into a neurology clinical diagnosis and treatment center and scientific research and talent training highland that has distinctive sub-specialty characteristics, and is first-class in Guangdong province, well-known in China and influential in the world.