The Department of Finance and Insurance was established in 1993. It offers three undergraduate programs in Finance, Financial Engineering, and Insurance, two master's programs in Finance (academic) and Finance (professional), as well as a doctoral program in Finance. Among these, the Finance program and the Financial Engineering program have been recognized as National First-Class Programs by the Ministry of Education. The International Finance course is a National Excellent Course and has also been designated as a National First-Class Offline Course by the Ministry of Education. The department houses research institutions such as the Institute of International Financial Management and the Research Center for Financial Econometrics and Risk Management. Its research spans multiple areas, including financial theory and policy, international finance, money and banking, corporate finance, financial engineering, asset pricing, insurance and actuarial science, and financial econometrics.

The department currently has one Changjiang Scholars Chair Professor appointed by the Ministry of Education, one recipient of the Ministry of Education's Program for New Century Excellent Talents, two recipients of Jiangsu Province's 333 High-Level Talent Cultivation Project, and three recipients of Nanjing University's Young and Middle-Aged Academic Leader Cultivation Program and Young Key Teacher Program. All faculty members hold doctoral degrees, with six having earned their doctorates from overseas institutions.

In recent years, the department's faculty has published nearly 40 papers in SSCI and SCI journals, including 8 in top-tier international journals, and over 210 papers in CSSCI journals, including 15 in top-tier domestic journals. They have led 7 projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China (including one major project and one key project), 10 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and 7 projects funded by the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Fund (including one major base project). They have also received 14 provincial and ministerial level awards, including the National Outstanding Achievement Award in Statistical Research, the An Zijie International Trade Research Award, and the Jiangsu Provincial Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences.