The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between the concept of the 'world class' university and the evidence provided by published global institutional ranking systems and to assess the policy implications of seeking 'world class' standing whether driven by governments or by institutions themselves. There would be little disagreement that higher education is subject to a league table culture or that ranking systems have a habit of driving policy [Hazelkorn, E. 2011. "Rankings and the Reshaping of Higher Education". London: Palgrave Macmillan]. What is less clear is whether policy-makers fully recognise the limitations of the messages which ranking systems seem to convey. In an increasingly market-conscious higher education environment the claim to be 'world class' is ubiquitous and is rarely subjected to critical scrutiny in public discourse so that the concept has become overused and devalued, albeit it remains a powerful element in policy formation. The paper argues that the concept can distort policy and lead to a concentration on unrealistic and unachievable goals.