With the significant rise in China's economic strength, more students and scholars have returned to China recently. But there is limited literature examining academics with foreign degrees and their research productivity. Using the data of the Changing Academic Profession in Asia (APA) survey, which was exercised in 2012, this study expands the understanding of personal characteristics of academics with foreign degrees in Chinese universities and examines their research productivity in comparison to that of those with domestic degrees. Results show that academics with foreign degrees are more productive in coauthored foreign articles and receive more research funding, leading to higher research productivity, than do those with domestic degrees. The author also finds that some international factors might have increased academics' productivity, especially, in publishing articles in a foreign language. Implications are presented about how to provide more research funding and more opportunities for academics at an international dimension to enhance their research productivity.