Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) was founded in 1958 based on the former Central Research Institute of Forestry established in 1953. Its present president is Chen Tong'ai.

The academy now has 4,476 staff workers, including 55 researchers, 230 associate researchers, 90 senior engineers, 654 research assistants and engineers, 730 primary technicians and 600 lab workers. It has more than 150 disciplines, including 12 disciplines authorized to grant master's degree and 3 to grant doctor's degree; it has research offices covering more than 90,000 square meters, over 600 precision apparatuses and more than 60,000 hectares of experimental lands.

The academy is active in academic exchanges and has established cooperative relation with more than 20 national and international organizations. It has implemented 60 cooperative projects and sent more than 200 technical staff to study abroad. Since its establishment, the academy has made 715 research achievements and won 245 various prizes.

CAF has published more than 10 specialized books. Its library boasts a collection of more than 300,000 volumes of books and 44,700 issues of periodicals in Chinese or other languages. The library has established relation with 450 domestic units and 139 foreign units to exchange books.