Abstract: Currently， there still exist some problems in development goal positioning of Chinas colleges and universities， for example， some schools lack a clear positioning of development goals， some have no explicit connotation of positioning， some set up their development goals that discord with national development strategies， and some others change their development goals in a short time. Development goal positioning， as a core component of college and university positioning， is of great importance， which could be accurately expressed by the concept—public awareness. It is necessary to appropriately adjust the development goal positioning of colleges and universities， but it is inappropriate to change it in a short time without achieving the original goals. From the perspective of system theory， it is the higher education system instead of each college or university that should seek for a reasonable positioning. Therefore， the government together with colleges and universities should become the subjects of positioning.

Key words: college and university, development goal, development positioning