Higher education is an important pillar of B&R, and as Chinese universities improve their global popularity, China is working hard to increase the level of higher education. In this paper, we provide a narrative synthesis of studies of China's Belt and Road Initiative for higher education in mainland China (published 2015-2020). The review reveals five major emerging themes in the published literature: Higher education development in countries along the route; Higher education cooperation between countries; Internationalization of higher education; Higher education functions; Education of international students. This review provides an overall picture of the knowledge base on high education for BRI. This article makes specific suggestions for improving higher education under the Belt and Road Initiative. The authors highlight the need for more empirically solid research in mainland China.