In the past decade, the term "world-class university" "WCU"--also called "globally competitive universities", "world-class", "elite", or "flagship" universities--has become a catch phrase, not simply for improving the quality of learning and research in higher education but also, more important, for developing the capacity to compete in the global higher education marketplace through the acquisition and creation of advanced knowledge. The main objective of paper is to propose a strategic approach for developing world-class universities in Egypt, to achieve this objective the paper starts by attempting to construct an operational definition of a world class university. It then outlines the features of world class University, the requirements of the transformation into a world-class universities, the challenges involved in achieving world class universities, and the key problems and challenges of the Egyptian higher education system. Finally. The selected statistical population of the research are Higher Education experts [N = 57], and a mix methods of conducting a questionnaire and interviews are used. The research questions are: 1-What does it mean to be a world-class university? 2-What are the essential features and characteristics of world-class university? 3-How does the ecosystem influence the performance of universities? 4-What are the present performance, problems and challenges of the Egyptian higher education system? 5-What are the higher education reform initiatives in Egypt? 6-What are the requirements that could upgrade public Egyptian universities to world class universities? 7-What are the existing challenges of developing world-class universities? 8-What Strategic approach is developed for Egypt to develop its world-class universities? One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test is used to analyze the data. Results: The result obtained in the study is to use the collaborative approach rather than to upgrade the present universities or create or merge.