Several fictional universes exist in science fiction that serve as backstage for novels, short stories, motion pictures and games. This list includes:

• The Æon Flux universe by Peter Chung
• The Alien Nation universe by Rockne S. O'Bannon
• The Alliance-Union universe by C. J. Cherryh
• The Avatar Universe by James Cameron
• The BattleTech universe, originally created by Jordan Weisman and Patrick Larkin and fleshed out by a multitude of other authors including Michael A. Stackpole, William H. Keith, Jr., Blaine Lee Pardoe, and Loren L. Coleman
• The Battlestar Galactica universe by Glen A. Larson
• The Blade Runner universe by Philip K. Dick
• The Bolo universe by Keith Laumer
• The Cloverfield universe by J. J. Abrams
• The CoDominium universe by Jerry Pournelle
• The Culture universe by Iain M. Banks
• The Dead Space universe by Glen Schofieled
• The Whoniverse co-created with Sydney Newman, Verity Lambert, Mervyn Pinfield, Anthony Coburn and C.E. Webber, among others
• The Dune universe by Frank Herbert
• The Eight Worlds Universe by John Varley
• The Enderverse by Orson Scott Card
• The Enthiran universe by S. Shankar
• The Firefly universe by Josh Whedon
• The Foundation Universe of the Robot–Empire–Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov
• The Gaean Reach universe by Jack Vance
• The Halo Universe by Bungie
• The Heechee universe by Frederik Pohl
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Universe by Douglas Adams
• The Honorverse by David Weber
• The Humanx Commonwealth Universe by Alan Dean Foster
• The Hyperion universe by Dan Simmons
• The Independence Day universe by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin
• The Instrumentality of Mankind universe by Cordwainer Smith
• The Isaac's Universe, by Isaac Asimov
• The Known Space Universe by Larry Niven
• The Legend of the Galactic Heroes universe by Yoshiki Tanaka
• The Liaden universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
• The Lost in Space universe by Irwin Allen
• The Macross universe by Studio Nue and Artland
• The Mass Effect universe by BioWare
• The Men in Black universe by Lowell Cunningham
• The Noon Universe, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• The Old Man's War universe, by John Scalzi
• The Orion's Arm universe, by M. Alan Kazlev, Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn, Bernd Helfert and Anders Sandberg
• The Planet of the Apes universe, by Pierre Boulle
• The Perry Rhodan universe by Karl-Herbert Scheer and Clark Darlton
• The Revelation Space universe by Alastair Reynolds
• The Rifts Megaverse by Kevin Siembieda
• The Saga of the Skolian Empire universe by Catherine Asaro
• The Sandman universe by Neil Gaiman
• The Sector General universe by James White
• The Skyline universe by Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell
• The Space Odyssey universe by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Stargate Universe, by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner
• The Starship Troopers universe by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Star Trek Universe, by Gene Roddenberry
• The Tekwar universe by William Shatner
• The Traveller universe, by Game Designers' Workshop
• The Uplift Universe by David Brin
• The X-COM universe by Mythos Games and MicroProse
• The X-Files universe by Chris Carter
• The Xeelee universe by Stephen Baxter
• The Zones of Thought Universe by Vernor Vinge

Some universes also include elements from other genres of speculative fiction such as fantasy or horror.

• The Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson
• The Star Wars universe, by George Lucas (space opera with some Tolkien influences ^[1])
• The Warhammer 40,000 universe by Games Workshop
• Bas-Lag by China Miéville

• Galactic empire
• List of fictional universes in literature
• List of galactic communities