Universities in Northeast China include Jilin University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Northeastern University, Northeast Normal University, Harbin Engineering University, Liaoning University, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Northeast Agricultural University and Heilongjiang University.

Jilin University, referred to as "Jida", is located in Changchun City, Jilin Province. It is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of People's Republic of China (PRC), and is compiled by the deputy ministerial level directly under the central government, ranking among the national "double-class", "2 1 1 project" and "985 project".

Harbin Institute of Technology, referred to as Harbin Institute of Technology, is located in nangang district, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. It is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and ranks among the national "double-class". The school was founded in 1920, and its name is Harbin Sino-Russian Industrial School. After the period of China-Russia University of Technology and East Special Zone University of Technology, it was officially named Harbin Institute of Technology on 1928.

Dalian University of Technology, referred to as "Dagong", is located in Dalian, Liaoning Province. It is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of China. The Ministry of Education and the State Bureau of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense jointly build universities, and the Ministry of Education, Liaoning Province and Dalian jointly build universities, which are national "double-class" universities. The school, formerly known as Dalian University Institute of Technology, was founded in April 1949. 1988 changed its name to Dalian University of Technology in March.