Deepak Nayyar teaches Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been there for more than twenty years. Earlier, he has taught at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (1980 to 1983), the University of Sussex (1973 to 1980) and the University of Oxford (1971 to 1973). He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Paris, Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro and Sciences-Po, Paris. He is also, at present, Distinguished University Professor of Economics at the New School of Social Research, New York.

During his teaching career, he has taught both undergraduate and graduate students a wide range of courses, including international economics, macroeconomics, and development economics. In addition, he has taught courses on the Indian economy, law and economics, trade and industrialization, transition economies, and transnational corporations. He has also supervised the research of a large number of PhD students.