Its library of 410,000-some holdings related to Chinese studies is regarded as a treasure-house of world sinology. Among them are precious specimens of shell-and-bone writing and Han dynasty stone rubbings that cannot be found in China itself and photographs, maps, tape recordings and microfiche reproductions of material from Yunkang, Lungmen and Tunhuang brought back by Japanese researchers.
位於京都市北白川的「人文科學研究所」是京大中國學研究的主要重鎮，所內收藏有世界漢學界視為珍寶的四十一萬冊中國學文獻，其中最珍貴的是一些連中國也找不到的漢籍拓本、殷商甲骨文，以及後日本人親往雲崗、龍門、敦煌等處調查帶回來的相片、地圖、錄音帶、微縮影片等資料。