Project 211 is a project of 106 (as of 2007) Key universities and colleges in the 21st century initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.

The project aims at cultivating high-level elite for national economic and social development strategies. The project began from the idea that, in the mid 1990s, the 30 elite universites at the time were too low by international research standards.

Inclusion in the project means that universities have to meet scientific, technical and HR standards and to offer set advanced degree programs.

The figure of 21 and 1 within 211 are from the abbreviation of the 21st century and approximate 100 universities respectively.