Mechanical Engineering is one of the major activities in the engineering profession and its principles are involved in the design, study, development and construction of nearly all of the physical devices and systems. Continued research and development have led to better machines and processes helping the mankind.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras is as old as the Institute itself. Its impact on the institute and on society is easily demonstrated by noting the alignment of the department's evolution with key events and technological advances in the India and elsewhere. Today, the department of Mechanical engineering of IIT Madras attracts and features an extraordinary rich diversity and quantity of talented individuals, with nearly 700 undergraduates, 500 graduate students and over 60 faculty members. The impressive array of students makes the department as the largest in the country and one of the largest in Asia.

In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, the faculty of Mechanical Engineering actively pursues research through graduate students. The current graduate students include nearly 150 Master of Technology students (M.Tech), 170 Master of Science (by research) students (M.S.) and 300 students pursuing their doctoral programme (Ph.D).