AbstractWe consider the inertial Qian–Sheng's Q-tensor dynamical model for the nematic liquid crystal flow, which can be viewed as a system coupling the hyperbolic-type equations for the Q-tensor parameter with the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations for the fluid velocity. We prove the existence and uniqueness of local in time strong solutions to the system with the initial data near uniaxial equilibrium. The proof is mainly based on the classical Friedrich method to construct approximate solutions and the closed energy estimate.