This article attempts to analyze the main tendencies of the higher education systems and policies within the Mercosur, a regional bloc composed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The article discusses some global trends and describes the process of educational integration in the Mercosur as well as the higher education systems of each of these countries. In the Mercosur, as in many other parts of the world, there has been a shift from elite to mass higher education systems. At the same time, these higher education systems have become more complex in terms of their institutional differentiation, legal frameworks and structures. In line with this, these systems have developed new approaches regarding regionalization, internationalization, post-graduation and new technologies. Their main challenges, however, come from the need to establish new and stronger links to knowledge production and knowledge management. In this sense, the article concludes by pointing out a complex pattern of challenges and tasks that need to be addressed by Mercosurian higher education systems in order to support broader efforts made in other levels of the integration process (infrastructure, energy, trade and institutions). (Contains 8 notes and 1 table.)