The University Of Zimbabwe (UZ), is the largest and most established university in Zimbabwe with a total student population of 11591 comprising of  10117 undergraduates and 1226 postgraduates and staff establishment of 2740. It was founded through a special relationship with the University of London and it opened its doors to its first students in 1952. The University is accredited through the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE), under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education.

The main campus of the University of Zimbabwe is located in the Mount Pleasant suburb in Northern Harare. It forms the main portion of the block of land reserved for educational purposes between Mount Pleasant Drive, Upper East Road, Churchill Avenue and Teviotdale Road. In addition to the academic buildings, the main campus is host to a number of sporting facilities; soccer and athletics stadium, basketball, tennis and volleyball and netball courts, rugby and cricket fields and all but two student residences and much of the staff housing. The College Green, located centrally to the academic buildings, is a popular site for social events.

There are two major satellite campuses; Medical School campus at Parirenyatwa Hospital in central Harare and School of Social Work campus in the Harare CBD. It houses the College of Health Sciences. Additional university properties within Harare include blocks of flats for staff and student housing in Avondale, the Avenues and Mount Pleasant.

The university also owns a farm in Teviotdale, Mazowe District, north of Harare and the University of Zimbabwe Lake Kariba Research Station in the Nyamhunga suburb of Kariba. Several of Zimbabwe's universities started as colleges and satellite campuses of UZ, including Bindura University of Science Education and Chinhoyi University of Technology.