Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) has been ranked among the world's top 1% in six fields, according to the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) rankings released in May 2026.

The recognised fields are Clinical Medicine, Neuroscience & Behaviour, Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, and Social Sciences (General). 

Notably, this marks the first time the University's Materials Science field has entered the ESI global top 1%.

The latest ESI database also recognised 112 papers published by XMUM scholars as ESI Top Papers, including 12 Hot Papers.

ESI Top Papers refer to papers ranked in the top 1% by citations for their field and publication year, while Hot Papers represent the top 0.1% most-cited papers in the most recent bimonthly period.

Currently, 2,034 papers authored by XMUM faculty members are indexed in the Web of Science database, with a total of 132,061 citations. The University ranks eighth in Malaysia in total citations and first among Malaysian higher education institutions in average citations per paper, with 64.93 citations per paper.

Data from Essential Science Indicators (ESI).

ESI is an analytical tool used to evaluate research performance across 22 academic fields and is widely adopted by universities and research institutions worldwide.

Click to view the whole list: ESI May 2026