Abstract: The forward-thinking, strategic, and systematic thinking of strategic scientists plays a vital role in solving significant national scientific problems and planning future development directions. Their ability to anticipate future challenges and opportunities, combined with their comprehensive approach to addressing complex issues, makes them indispensable for advancing national scientific and technological capabilities. Achieving the strategic goal of sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening at higher levels is of utmost importance, ensuring that the nation remains competitive on the global stage. Conducting an in-depth examination of the growth process of the strategic scientists group and uncovering their growth paths and internal mechanisms will enhance our understanding and grasp of the training rules of strategic scientists. This, in turn, will facilitate the discovery and cultivation of more strategic scientists and expedite the development of strategic scientific and technological talents, ensuring sustained progress and resilience in the face of evolving global scientific and technological landscapes. The article adopts a case study method, focusing on 34 dual-academy academicians from both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in our country. Extensive core data on academicians is obtained from scientific literature, news media reports, personal biographies, etc., and an in-depth analysis of each academician's growth process is conducted. Firstly, the growth process of strategic scientists is divided into four stages: determining a scientific career, early career development, mid-career development, and late career development. The key influencing factors corresponding to these four stages can be condensed into: a strong sense of national mission, a favorable environment for innovation, playing a significant role in engineering, and involvement in scientific and technological management. Secondly, a strategic scientist capability model with one center (national mission) and three cores (theoretical research capabilities, engineering practice capabilities, and strategic planning capabilities) is refined and constructed. This model emphasizes that strategic scientists are closely focused on the internal driving force of the national mission, forming three core capabilities: theoretical research capabilities, engineering practice capabilities, and strategic planning capabilities. Among these, theoretical research capabilities and engineering practice capabilities serve as the foundation for the development of strategic planning capabilities. Thirdly, utilizing this model, the paper proposes three primary stages in the growth path of strategic scientists: the development of basic capabilities, the acquisition of strategic capabilities, and the performance of strategic functions. This provides a theoretical basis for establishing and enhancing mechanisms for discovering and training strategic scientists in our country. Based on the aforementioned research content, this article puts forward the following suggestions for cultivating more potential strategic scientists: Encourage more experienced senior scientists to engage in scientific spiritual education and foster a sense of national mission in young scientists; create a friendly and harmonious innovation ecosystem to facilitate the integration of young scientists into the scientific and technological community; provide more opportunities for young scientists engaged in applied basic research to assume leadership roles and promote their strategic development. Additionally, the study primarily explores the growth characteristics of early strategic scientists, and future research can further delve into the growth characteristics of strategic scientists in the new era.