The position of UK universities in the 2008 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings has deteriorated as the US elite cement their place at the top of the table.
The best-rated institution in the UK is the University of Cambridge, which fell one place to third, while the University of Oxford, which last year shared second place with Cambridge and Yale University, slipped to fourth.
For the fifth consecutive year Harvard University has topped the table, while Yale has broken away from its Oxbridge rivals to claim second place uncontested.
Among other leading UK institutions, Imperial College London fell from fifth to sixth place, while University College London, the last UK institution to make the top ten, rose from ninth to seventh place.
Of the top 100 institutions, 17 are from the UK, two fewer than in 2007 after the University of Leeds fell from 80th to 104th and Cardiff University from 99th to 133rd.
The UK's position across the top 200 also weakened, with the total number of institutions making the cut down from 30 to 29.
Of these, 22 slipped down the rankings, six improved their position and one, the University of Edinburgh, retained the same spot.
The shifting picture has raised questions about the strength of the sector and its funding.
Spending on higher education in the UK, as a proportion of gross domestic product, is below the average for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and less than half that of the US.
By John Gill
Read more here: timeshighereducation.co.uk
Check out the Top 200 World Universities
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