Five British Universities ranked in world top 200 according to a list published by Times Higher Education world university rankings.
Edinburgh and Glasgow universities fell several places to 27th and 88th respectively, while St Andrews dropped out of the top 100 all together.
Only the University of Dundee climbed the rankings, from 185th last academic year to 180th in 2016/17 .
The rankings are based on universities' record of teaching, research, "knowledge transfer" and international outlook.
This year's table is topped by a UK institution for the first time, with the University of Oxford knocking the California Institute of Technology into second place.
The University of Edinburgh remains Scotland's top higher education institution, according to the ranking.
But it rated the University of St Andrews in 110th place, well down on the 86th position it achieved last year.
A spokeswoman for the Fife university told th BBC an increase in the number of participating institutions affected rankings across the board.
She added: "It is also a clear signal of the need for UK higher education institutions to raise their ambitions in order to compete internationally. This will be especially important post-Brexit.
"We are encouraged that St Andrews' score for international outlook has increased. This reflects an outward-looking approach which has gained us a reputation as Scotland's most international university.
"However, we will also be engaging with government to make sure St Andrews has the optimal operating environment to continue to rank among the best and build on its reputation for excellence. "
Stirling, Heriot-Watt, Strathclyde, Napier, Glasgow Caledonian and Robert Gordon universities, as well as the University of the West of Scotland feature in a longer list of the world's top higher education institutions.
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