The University of Oxford received the most in research grants and contracts in 2009-10, with £359 million, according to data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Performance indicators released on 15 July show that Imperial College, London, gained the second highest amount at £297m, with University College London third at £275m.
The data show that overall the University of Cambridge awarded the most PhDs in 2009-10, with 1,085.
HESA’s indicators also show how each institution performed relative to academic staff costs and its allocation of quality-related research funding from the relevant higher education funding council, compared with the rest of the sector.
Last year The Institute of Education awarded the highest number of PhDs compared to its staff costs, followed by the University of Exeter. All Russell Group research-intensive universities scored above average on this measure.
The Royal Academy of Music awarded the most PhDs relative to QR income, followed by Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Northampton.
The University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute scored highest in terms of research grants and contracts income relative to QR funding.
Small institutions, which earned little overall, also did well on this relative scale, with Leeds College of Music and Norwich University College of the Arts following the Highlands and Islands Institute.
HESA pointed out that the indicators do not measure research quality, which is the domain of the Research Assessment Exercise.
The agency also published data on the employment rates of graduates. The figures show that while 94 per cent of University of Cambridge graduates were in employment or further study, the figure was just 78 per cent for the University of London.
Arts University College at Bournemouth had 97.5 per cent of graduates employed or studying, alongside almost 95 per cent for the University of Surrey and 95.7 per cent for Robert Gordon University.
Other data released on 15 July include information on the number of students coming from state schools and university drop-out rates.