Lanzhou National Laboratory of heavy ion accelerator is based on the Institute of modern physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was established on August 13, 1991 with the approval of the former State Planning Commission. It is mainly engaged in the frontier and Application Research of Heavy Ion Physics, including nuclear physics, highly ionized atomic and molecular physics, nuclear astrophysics, materials science, life science, advanced particle accelerator and other research fields.

Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator (HIRFL) is mainly composed of three generations of major scientific projects during the first five year plan, Seventh Five Year Plan and ninth five year plan, including ECR ion source, SFC, SSC, CSR, RIBLL, experimental terminal and other research facilities. Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator has the ability to accelerate all ions from hydrogen to uranium. It can provide stable nuclear and radioactive beams of various kinds, high quality and wide energy range. Its main technical indicators have reached the international advanced level, with an annual operation time of more than 7000 hours and an annual beam supply time of more than 5000 hours. It has provided experimental conditions for more than 200 users at home and abroad. It is the largest and most advanced heavy ion accelerator in China The heavy ion accelerator, which has the highest accuracy of short-lived nuclide mass measurement in the world, is also the most important device for Heavy Ion Physics and interdisciplinary research in China.

In recent years, the Institute of modern physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences has carried out a series of upgrading of Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator. The first continuous wave high charge state heavy ion linear injector (SSC LINAC) developed in China and the separation fan cyclotron (SSC) have jointly debugged the beam, expanded the energy range of heavy ion beam, and improved the use efficiency and beam feeding ability. Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator has become the first large scientific device in the world to adopt the unique combination of three different types of accelerators, namely linear + cyclotron + synchrotron.

Since the construction of Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator, it has achieved a number of major basic research achievements, such as New Nuclide synthesis and accurate measurement of short-lived nuclear mass, and provided major national strategic technical support, such as "National Defense 2" mission, single event effect detection of space components, and "Wukong" plastic scintillation array detector of dark matter particle detection satellite, We have developed and transferred a number of scientific and technological achievements that serve economic and social development, such as heavy ion cancer treatment, irradiation mutation breeding and nuclear pore membrane. Through years of development, Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator National Laboratory has cultivated and created a national reliable nuclear science and technology strategic force.