Before 2005, commercial flights were handles in what is now the airport's cargo terminal. In 2006, a larger terminal was built and is now the passenger terminal. A huge expansion was made to the passenger terminal around 2010 to accommodate more passengers. It has 47 jet bridges and is one of the largest airports in China. It is located in a state-of-the-art terminal building, which is more than three times bigger than the previous terminal, at 116,000 m2 (1,250,000 sq ft). When the three construction phases are completed, the airport terminal will be over 500,000 m2 (5,400,000 sq ft) and will be able to handle 40 million passengers per year. Over the period of the project the airport site will enlarge from the current 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) to 80 km2 (30.9 sq mi). The airport as a whole will resemble Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in size and will be able to handle over 500,000 tons of cargo and 200,000 flights per year.

The expansion, with a total investment of nearly ¥3 billion (US$409.5 million), widened the runway to 75 m (246 ft) (from previous 50 m (160 ft)), and lengthened it to 3,600 m (11,800 ft). In May 2009, the airport also completed the construction of a second runway, with the expected number of passengers exceeding ten million.

Tianjin Airlines is headquartered in the terminal.

On 28 August 2014, Tianjin Binhai International Airport Terminal 2 came into use. The second floor is used as an arrivals hall, while the first floor is a departure hall.

Underground, on level B1, there is a public transport hub, used to connect the airport terminal to various methods of public transportation. This includes a subway station level, a transfer hall and an underground parking lot. Terminal 2 is connected to subway line number 2, meaning that passengers can get to the terminal straight from Tianjin railway station.