After returning to China, he worked in the National Institute of Educational Sciences, 1973 transferred to Beijing Normal University to teach, and 1999 retired. The books or teaching materials involved in compiling include History of Foreign Ancient Education, A Brief Compilation of Foreign Education History, Volumes IV and VI of General History of Foreign Education, Volume III of Review of Foreign Educators, History of Foreign Modern Education (deputy editor), History of Foreign Modern Education (editor-in-chief), Outline of Comparative History of Chinese and Foreign Education (one of the editors-in-chief of Modern Volume) and Foreign Education. In 2006, he wrote The History of Russian Education. Participated in the compilation of reference books such as Encyclopedia of China (Education Volume), Dictionary of Education, Dictionary of World Encyclopedia and Overview of World Education Masterpieces, and has translated several books (co-translated). Representative academic papers include La Xia Luotai and His Krupskaya and His Educational Thought, Teaching Process in Soviet Contemporary Education Theory, and Vaya Suhomlinski from the Development of Soviet Contemporary Education.

Among them, The Course of Foreign Education History, edited by Wang Tianyi and others, is the most authoritative textbook of foreign education history after The History of Foreign Education (Volume I and Volume II). It was once designated as the national key textbook for general higher education in the Ninth Five-Year Plan. This book won the first prize of national excellent teaching materials for colleges and universities issued by the Ministry of Education.