It has been said that Dai "learned from all the masters of landscape painting," and it is true that he drew on a wide range of sources, employing the landscape style of southern Song court painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui while also borrowing from the Yuan dynasty masters Li Cheng and Guo Xi.
畫史說戴進「山水得諸家之妙」，可見戴進師承淵源相當寬廣，不但採用南宋馬遠、夏珪院體派的山水畫風，並進而吸收北宋李成、郭熙畫派精華。