With ongoing globalizasication in the world economy, the internationalization of higher education is becoming increasingly important. The article considers several main definitions of “internationalization”, makes an overview of the basic national strategies and approaches which defines country’s policies regarding internationalization of higher education. It also identifies the mainstream world tendencies of higher education internationalization and advantages of internationalization in terms of government and higher education institution perspectives. For the state, internationalization is an important element of the country’s development, as it offers government to use additional opportunities of: developing the economy and making profit by exporting educational services; supporting the labour market; getting political benefits; developing the national higher education systems in accordance with global trends; the society cultural and social life developing. From the position of universities internationalization allows to improve the quality of educational programs in accordance with international standards, to strengthen reputation at the international level and, thus, to become more competitive. In this regard, many countries use internationalization of higher education in different ways and forms. As an example, the article examines contemporary institutional practices for the development of internationalization in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea and Russian Federation.