The Excellence Initiative aims to promote Germany's top-level research, improve the quality of German universities,make German universities competitive in a global knowledge society and raise their international visibility. Its implementation comprises promoting young talent, strengthening scientific cooperation, sharpening the profiles of the German universities and developing their distinguishing characteristics. The plan attracts great attention both from domestic and international circles during its planning, processing and implementation phases, and also leads to heated discussions. This article introduces the background and details of Excellence Initiative, evaluates its influence and forecasts the future of the German universities. <<