Along with the globalization of economy,the concept of cultural globalization has become a consensus among countries worldwide. As an important driving force of cultural globalization,higher education has become a focal issue of common concern for countries. Appadurai’s theory of cultural globalization provides a sound explanatory path for achieving internationalization in higher ed- ucation through institutional and student mobility. As one of the three major international organizations among governments,OECD has played a positive role in promoting the internationalization of higher education. Through the establishment of specialized research institu- tions,OECD has adopted four different but not mutually exclusive policy orientations for the internationalization of higher education: mutual understanding approach,capacity building approach,skill migration approach and revenue-generating approach to promote and advance the development of the internationalization of higher education. At the same time,the policy focus of OECD’s internationaliza- tion of higher education is reflected in three aspects: attention to the fairness of access to higher education,pursuit of quality assurance for higher education,and emphasis on the promotion of higher education to the economy.