中国科学院昆明动物研究所直属于中国科学院，是我国生物多样性演化、保护与可持续利用领域的综合性研究机构。 设有生物多样性中心、进化发育中心、灵长类中心、资源利用中心4个研究中心。共计44个学科组。
研究所拥有遗传资源与进化国家重点实验室、中国科学院动物模型与人类疾病机理重点实验室、模式动物表型与遗传研究国家重大科技基础设施、国家非人灵长类实验动物资源库、天然活性多肽国家地方联合工程研究中心等实验基地。拥有云南无量山西黑冠长臂猿监测站和云南大山包黑颈鹤监测站2个野外观测台站，是我国西南地区规模最大、收藏量最丰富的动物专题博物馆，先后被授予“全国科普教育基地”、“云南省生态文明教育基地”等荣誉称号。
建所以来，昆明动物所始终定位于生物多样性演化、保护和利用研究，并按照中科院的决策和部署，凝练聚焦国家重大和关键科技问题，整合组织科研力量，在老一辈科学家的带领下，取得了一批高水平研究成果，造就了一批优秀科学家，取得了良好的社会效益和经济效益，为国家和地方的发展作出了重要贡献。
目前，研究所与美洲、欧洲等多个国家的著名科研机构开展合作，并积极参与中国科学院“中非联合研究中心”和“东南亚生物多样性研究中心”的建设，进一步拓展了与非洲和东南亚的合作。 负责编辑出版动物学核心刊物Zoological Research（《动物学研究》），该刊物于2018年12月起正式被SCIE收录。在动物学领域175种SCI期刊中排名第5位，入选“中国最具国际影响力学术期刊”。
昆明动物所立足我国西南与东南亚地区丰富的遗传多样性资源，有效支撑生态文明和生态安全屏障建设、种业创新、人民健康等国家战略需求，瞄准“遗传、发育和进化交叉统一”的科学前沿。依托模式动物（灵长类）表型与遗传研究国家重大科技基础设施等特色平台，解析生物多样性形成与维持的机制，突破生物多样性资源保护与创新利用关键技术，成为引领全球遗传多样性资源保护与可持续创新利用的中心、人才高地和原创成果策源地。
The Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is directly under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is a comprehensive research institution in the field of biodiversity evolution, conservation and sustainable utilization in China. There are four research centers: the Biodiversity Center, the Evolutionary Development Center, the Primate Center, and the Resource Utilization Center. A total of 44 subject groups.
The Institute has experimental bases such as the State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, the Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure for Phenotyping and Genetic Research of Model Animals, the National Resource Bank of Non-human Primate Laboratory Animals, and the National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Natural Active Peptides. It has two field observation stations, Yunnan Wuliangshan Black-crowned Gibbon Monitoring Station and Yunnan DashanBao Black-necked Crane Monitoring Station, and is the largest and most abundant animal museum in southwest China, and has been awarded the honorary titles of "National Science Popularization Education Base" and "Yunnan Ecological Civilization Education Base".
Since its establishment, Kunming Institute of Zoology has always been positioned in the research of biodiversity evolution, conservation and utilization, and in accordance with the decision-making and deployment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, condensed and focused on major national and key scientific and technological issues, integrated and organized scientific research forces, under the leadership of the older generation of scientists, has achieved a number of high-level research results, created a group of outstanding scientists, achieved good social and economic benefits, and made important contributions to national and local development.
At present, the Institute cooperates with well-known scientific research institutions in the Americas, Europe and other countries, and actively participates in the construction of the "China-Africa Joint Research Center" and the "Southeast Asian Biodiversity Research Center" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, further expanding cooperation with Africa and Southeast Asia. Responsible for editing and publishing Zoological Research, a core journal of zoology, which has been officially included in SCIE since December 2018. It ranked 5th among 175 SCI journals in the field of zoology and was selected as "China's Most Internationally Influential Academic Journal".
Based on the rich genetic diversity resources in southwest China and Southeast Asia, Kunming Animal Institute effectively supports the national strategic needs of ecological civilization and ecological security barrier construction, seed industry innovation, and people's health, and aims at the scientific frontier of "cross-unification of genetics, development and evolution". Relying on the special platforms of the national major scientific and technological infrastructure such as the phenotypic and genetic research of model animals (primates), the mechanism of biodiversity formation and maintenance is analyzed, and the key technologies for the conservation and innovative utilization of biodiversity resources are broken, and it has become the center, talent highland and source of original achievements that lead the conservation and sustainable innovative utilization of genetic diversity resources in the world.