Of the 5,663 leading institutions assessed by QS, Bristol was found to be in the top 3.6%.
54th place is a rise of one from last year and means Bristol is the ninth best university in the UK and 11th best in Europe, according to QS.
It also found Bristol to be the 17th most sustainable university in the world.
Prof Judith Squires, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, said: “It is fantastic to once again see Bristol named among the best universities in the world in QS’s prestigious rankings.
“In a university sector full of talented individuals, our amazing students and staff shine bright.
“I would like to thank everyone at the University of Bristol who made this result possible.”
QS ranks universities on nine criteria – from the impact of their academic research to their reputation among peers.
This year saw Bristol make big gains in the ‘Sustainability’ category, which looks at institutions’ social and environmental impact, and the ‘International Research Network’ category, which looks at how institutions partner with other global universities.
The good news comes just two weeks after the Complete University Guide found that nearly 30 University of Bristol subjects were considered top 10 in their field in the UK.
QS also ranked Bristol highly among UK universities. It was named the 4th best in the ‘Sustainability’ category, 5th best in the ‘Citations per Faculty’ category (a measure of institutions’ research output) and 9th best in the Academic Reputation category (based on the views of peer academics worldwide).
The other categories were: Employment Outcomes, Employer Reputation, Faculty to Student Ratio, International Faculty (the number of international staff) and International Students (the number of international students).