The internationalisation of higher education has typically been seen as a contemporary trend driven by Western developed nations, whereby particular elite models of provision, most frequently delivered in the English language, influence practice globally. This has involved either the recruitment of international students and staff, notably to the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries, or the opening by their universities of branch campuses overseas. The picture is, however, rather more complex than this, with many other national and institutional players involved, in different ways at different levels, and patterns varying from region to region. This article explores the research evidence on the internationalisation of higher education beyond the West through a systematic review of recent academic writing. In doing so, it draws attention to the challenges and opportunities identified in the research literature, and questions whether the internationalisation of higher education is a truly global phenomenon. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.