Abstract: According to the guiding opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on promoting the reform of public institutions by classification in 2011, public institutions of category II can own operational assets and carry out operational activities abroad. However, in order to avoid affecting the normal operation of their own work and idle waste of assets, how to determine the scope of operational assets and its management regulations has become an important issue in the reform of public institutions. In this paper, taking universities as an example, by combing the connotation, management system, accountability mechanism and reform mode of operational assets of public institutions, and based on the analysis of the management experience of universities in the United States and Japan, the author proposes that universities should formulate management regulations for their "operational assets", clarify the rights and responsibilities of the external management subjects of universities, improve the information disclosure system of universities and build professional teams And clearly divide the scope of responsibility solutions.