Otago University was ranked in the 226 to 250 bracket in the annual rankings, behind the University of Auckland, which was ranked the 161st best university in the world.
The position represented a slight drop for Otago University, which was in the 201 to 225 bracket last year.
Academic and international deputy vice-chancellor Prof Vernon Squire said the result was a good one for the university despite the fall in rankings "It is important to note that positions do fluctuate within the rankings from time to time, and Otago's scores across four of the five rankings measures were better than in 2011 and the university is happy with this result," Prof Squire said.
The biggest change in this year's rankings was a "surge" from Asian universities, which were "reaping the rewards of intensive government investment over the last decade".
Placing inside the top 300 meant the university was ranked as being inside the top 1.5% institutions worldwide, a university spokeswoman said.
The other New Zealand universities to make it in to the top 400 were Victoria University of Wellington, which was in the 251 to 275 bracket, the University of Canterbury (301 to 350), University of Waikato (301 to 350) and Massey University (351-400).
