The majority of UK universities moved up the Times Higher Education's ranking of the world's top 200 institutions in 2015.
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Three UK institutions made the top 10: Oxford climbed to second place, Cambridge came in fourth, and Imperial College London claimed eighth place.
The UK boasts 34 universities in the top 200, compared to last year's 29, with several institutions moving up by a significant margin, including Warwick, St Andrews and Exeter. Universities of Reading, Dundee and Newcastle re-established their places in the top 200 after missing out last year.
Editor of the Times Higher Education world rankings, Phil Baty, praised the performance of UK institutions, stating that the UK is "a stand-out performer in this year's rankings."
The rankings are based on a number of factors, including teaching, research and international outlook.
The California Institute of Technology in the US claimed the top spot for the fifth year in a row, but Europe has begun to challenge the dominance of the United States, with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich being the first non-US or UK to make the world top 10 in a decade.
Germany also has 20 universities in the top 200 and the Netherlands has 12, while there are five from France, and Spain and Italy each have three.
Baty stated that European universities are more welcoming for international students and less hindered by funding cuts, while these issues will hamper the UK's long-term performance.
"Despite the UK's success, its continued cuts in higher education funding - the Higher Education Funding Council for England received a £150 million budget slash this year - and series of immigration measures affecting overseas students, will hinder its performance in the long run," Baty
"The UK will have to work hard to ensure its higher education spending and immigration policies do not hinder its place in the world university rankings."