The major responsibilities are:

1. to carry out the national laws, regulations and polices related to ethnic groups and religious affairs; to make concrete laws and policies related to ethnic groups and religious affairs based on local conditions; to draft local laws and regulations with entrustment from the city government, and to implement them after deliberation and supervise and check the implementation process.

2. to protect the religious freedom of citizens; to guarantee clergymen the preaching rights; and to protect the rightful interests of religious groups and religious venues for activities.

3. to protect in accordance with relevant laws the rights of minority ethnic groups and coordinate the relations between different groups; to supervise the foods production and marketing of Muslims' eating places.

4. to organize and coordinate surveys on ethnic and religious issues; to keep abreast of general religious trends and study them, then give proposals on policy making; to organize and direct the studies on issues related to ethnic groups and religious theories and policies.

5. to administer religious groups, places for religious activities, clergy people, religious articles and religious activities, etc.

6. to guide religious groups to undertake education and nurturing of clergymen; to reinforce the links between personages of ethnic and religious circles, encourage them to self educate in patriotism, socialism, reunification of the country and solidarity of all nationalities in China; to consolidate and develop the patriotic united front in religious circles and mobilize religious people to contribute to the opening up and economic development of the country.

7. to assist organization and personnel departments to educate and use cadres of ethnic affairs and keep in contact with cadres of minority groups; to participate in policy making and planning in education, culture, science and technology, health, sports of minority ethnic groups. 

8. to guide religious groups to carry on activities within boundaries of the Constitution and relevant laws; to prevent any bad people utilizing religious activities to conduct unlawful activities; to handle all sorts of affairs that religious groups need government agencies to assist or coordinate.

9. to guide religious groups to engage in friendship contacts with outside under the principle of independence and conducting own affairs on its own, publicize the religious policies of China and resist the infiltration of overseas anti-China religious forces; to assist other departments to undertake foreign related issues.

10. to guide the ethnic and religious work in counties and districts; to cope with timely the ethnic and religious incidents or issues that may affect social stability.

11. to undertake together with other departments the publicity work of the CPC's policies on minority groups and religions, education, and protection of cultural relics, etc.

12. to undertake other tasks consigned by the city government and other higher authorities.