Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (RCCM), Peking University Third Hospital, provides comprehensive care for patients with pulmonary and breathing disorders, and is committed to scientific research and medical training. In 2012, the department was awarded the national clinical key specialty project, and in 2018 rated as "Outstanding Department of National PCCM Program in Tertiary Hospitals".

Department of RCCM was initially established as Bronchitis Clinic in early 1970s, and later as Respiratory Diseases Division in 1977. The bronchoscopy suite was set up in 1980 and related techniques such as bronchial alveolar lavage were performed in the department lab. The pulmonary function lab was set up in 1983. As early as 1988, medical thoracoscopy was introduced. In 2001, the sleep lab was established for polysomnography studies and patient care.

Respiratory critical care started in 1978 for treatment of respiratory failure due to COPD with mechanical ventilators. The Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) was set up in 1995, beginning with 6 beds, and expanded to 26 beds in 2 separate wards in 2015 as Medical/Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (MIUC/RICU), serving as the center for patients with medical critical illness, with specialized staff and nurses，advanced technology and facilities, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), bedside ultrasound, blood purification, PiCCO monitoring and trans-pulmonary pressure monitoring. More than 500 patients with critical illness are admitted annually.

The department delivers comprehensive care for respiratory diseases both in outpatient and inpatient settings. The outpatient section has more than 100,000 visits annually. The inpatient wards have 60 beds, with an annual admission of more than 2000 patients. Specialist clinics for COPD, asthma, smoking cessation, lung cancer, and sleep disordered breathing are provided for our patients. Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) has been set up for difficult pulmonary disorders, lung nodules and asthma and allergic diseases.

There are 30 respiratory specialists (physicians), 2 respiratory therapists, 6 technicians and 95 nurses currently working in the department.