The Ceramics Institute, formerly known as the Palace Museum's Ancient Ceramics Research Center, was established in 2005 and changed to its current name on July 21, 2015. The institute has a room for viewing ancient ceramics materials (which also serves as a small conference room), a space for displaying ancient ceramics (equipped with touch screens and plasma displays), and laboratories for testing and research (including a laboratory for analyzing the components of ancient ceramics, a laboratory for studying craftsmanship, a laboratory for structural analysis, and a laboratory for testing physical and chemical properties, which are responsible for analyzing and testing ancient ceramics). The institute's research concerns ancient ceramics collected by the Palace Museum, specimens collected from ancient ceramics kiln sites, and ancient Chinese ceramics collected from around the world. Its research spans materials, craftsmanship, construction, and related properties of different types of ancient ceramics from different periods and regions, the age, kilns, and authenticity of ancient ceramics, and technologies for the scientific preservation, repair, and replication of ancient ceramics.

Director: Lyu Chenglong

Deputy-Directors: Wang Guangyao, Han Qian