Early exposure to clinical research projects plays an important role in cultivating the research abilities and interests of medical students. However, there is currently a lack of management strategies and effectiveness evaluation for early engagement of medical students in research projects. Peking University Third Hospital has been exploring the management of early exposure to clinical research projects formedical undergraduate since 2021. Over a period of three years, they have developed a management program based on the ″conceiving-designing-implementing-operating″ (CDIO) framework. Results from a questionnaire survey involving 127 medical undergraduates and 111 clinical teachers who participated in the projects revealed that108 (85.0%) students and 92 (82.9%) teachers expressed satisfaction with the projects. A total of 102 (80.3%) students expressed a sense of achievement through their participation, among which 99 (97.1%) students believed that their clinical research abilities had improved, 89 (87.3%) students felt that their academic writing skills had improved, and 70 (68.6%) students believed that their academic presentation skills had improved. Additionally, 91 (71.6%) studentswere able to write and submit a review or article by the end of the project. The CDIO-based management for early exposure to clinical research projects contributes to the development of the research abilities of medical undergraduates.