Abstract: In order to meet the needs of cultivating outstanding engineers under the new situation, under the new circumstances of engineering education reform and engineering verification, this paper draws on the advanced education concepts at home and abroad such as CDIO, and puts forward a STEP (i.e., software, theory, experiment, project) education mode that can be applied to supporting engineering education and training outstanding engineer talents on the basis of international first-class standards and in combination with the actual engineering education in Beihang University. The STEP education mode constructs a curriculum system which includes project-driven approach, coordination between theoretical teaching and experimental teaching, and support by software tools. It also establishes a teaching mode with the integration of science and education, virtual reality and actual reality, as well as competitions, and forms a guarantee mechanism for improving teaching ability, practice environment and quality evaluation system. This mode has been promoted and practised in some courses of relevant colleges in Beihang University, and achieved good teaching effects.