As a university hospital and medical center, NTUH sees medical research as one of its core missions because it not only affects competitiveness, but also has a far-reaching impact on the nation's medical care technology, teaching, and quality as a whole. It is NTUH’s conviction that the essence of medical research is innovation and that the fruits of R&D must come from the ongoing dedication of research staff to make the ultimate purpose of R&D centered on the “patients' interests”.

NTUH's focus on and persistence in “medical research” has enabled it to set numerous clinical firsts in the world and Asia. NTUH has enjoyed a world-class reputation for pioneering achievements in the fields of hepatitis, organ transplantation, cancer diagnosis and treatment, biophotonics, tissue materials, and emergency rescue of people with critical illnesses. Services in immunology, cardiology, infertility, dermatology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and minimally invasive surgeries are also up to international standards.

In recent years, in support of national policies and in response to the global trend in biomedical technology development, NTUH has especially proposed 10 prospective medium and long-term research directions:

1. Neuroscience (including psychiatry)
2. Genomic medicine (including gene therapy, SNP, microarrays, proteomics)
3. Artificial organs and medical equipment aids
4. Translation medicine and related fields in clinical trials
5. Aging medicine
6. New medical technologies
7. Stem cells, cell therapy, tissue engineering, nanomedicine
8. Environmental medicine
9. Obesity and metabolic syndromes
10. Attitudes and philosophy of medicine