Kazan was and remains one of the largest student centers in Russia with one of the oldest universities, the technological academic town Innopolis and several well-known specialized universities. According to Forbes, four Kazan universities are included in the Top 100 Russian Universities ranking:
- Kazan Federal University - 18th place
- Innopolis - 36th place
- Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU-KCTI) - 47th place
- Kazan National Research Technical University named after Tupolev (KNITU-KAI) - 66th place.
There are 43 universities in Kazan, among them - 20 branches and representative offices of nonresident educational institutions, where more than 150.9 thousand students receive quality education.
Top universities in Kazan 2026 rankings
| 1 | Kazan Federal University |
| 2 | Kazan National Research Technological University |
| 3 | Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev |
| 4 | Kazan State Medical University |
| 5 | Kazan State Power Engineering University |
| 6 | Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering |
| 7 | Bauman Kazan State Academy of Veterinary Medicine |
| 8 | Volga Region State Academy of Physical Culture, Sport and Tourism |
| 9 | Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov |
| 10 | Kazan State Conservatory (Academy) named after N.G. Zhiganov |
| 11 | Kazan State Institute of Culture |
| 12 | Institute of Social and Humanitarian Knowledge |
| 13 | Academy of Social Education |
| 14 | Elabuga branch of KFU - Kazan (Volga region) Federal University |
| 15 | KIFEI - Kazan Institute of Finance, Economics and Informatics |
| 16 | Kazan Institute - branch of VSUYu - All-Russian State University of Justice (RPA of the Ministry of Justice of Russia) |
| 17 | Kazan branch of ALaSR - Academy of Labor and Social Relations |
| 18 | University of Management TISBI |
| 19 | Kazan branch of Moscow Academy of Entrepreneurship under the Government of Moscow |
| 20 | Kazan branch of Volga State University of Telecommunications and Informatics |
| 21 | Kazan branch of the Russian International Academy of Tourism |
| 22 | Kazan Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law |
| 23 | Kazan branch of Modern Humanitarian Academy |
| 24 | Kazan Cooperative Institute - a branch of the Russian University of Cooperation |
| 25 | Kazan State Agrarian University |
| 26 | Kazan Islamic University |
| 27 | Kazan Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia |
| 28 | Kazan Higher Military Command School |
| 29 | Kazan Branch of the Vladimir Law Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service |
| 30 | Kazan branch of Russian State Trade and Economic University |
| 31 | Kazan branch of Volga State University of Water Transport |
| 32 | Kazan branch of Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University named after N.A. Dobrolyubov |
| 33 | Kazan Branch of the Russian State University of Justice |
