Abstract: One direct impact of contemporary globalisation on Sydney is its emergence as a global city, as attested and measured in the rapidly growing global city discourse (Beaverstock, Taylor, & Smith, 1999; Friedmann, 1986, 1995; GaWC, 1998, 2009; Godfrey & Zhou, 1999; MasterCard Worldwide, 2008; Ni & Kresl, 2010; Peter J. Taylor, et al., 2011). With globalisation as an exogenous driving force, significant urban transformations have occurred in Sydney, which are the most epitomised in the central city area (or Central Sydney as delineated in this paper). It is contended that ‘Sydney’s global city status is based firmly on an essentialisation of the central business district (CBD) and historic core’ (D. McNeill, Robyn Dowling, Bob Fagan, 2005, p. 939). Observations and discussions on the transformations of Sydney with a relevance to or a focus on Central Sydney in the context of globalisation have been made from a range of angles: on an neoliberal agenda towards the planning of a global Sydney and shifted focus on promoting economic competitiveness (McGuirk, 2003, 2004); on the challenges on the multi-scalar urban governance presented by the imperatives of sustainability and the need for a metropolis-wide authority (Acuto, 2011); on the agglomeration of advanced business services and corporate headquarters (Spiller, 2003; Tonts & Taylor, 2010); on the increased concentration of the knowledge-based economy in the central city area (Hu, 2010); on the reinforced clustering of producer services and an emergent multimedia cluster in inner Sydney (Searle, 1998a; Searle & Valence, 2005); on the reconfiguration of the office work, office workers and workspaces towards practices of association, interaction and shared workspaces (O'Neill & McGuirk, 2003); on the undertaking of urban design initiatives towards the promotion of a global image and the enhancement of living and amenity spaces characterised by a neoliberal planning regime and commercial culture (D. McNeill, 2011; Punter, 2005); on the political agenda and community effects of urban consolidation, redevelopment, and gentrification of the traditional industry districts (Bounds & Morris, 2005, 2006; Bunker, Gleeson, Holloway, & Randolph, 2002; Searle, 2007; Searle & Filion, 2011); on the planning and development of global entertainment, activities and cultural facilities (Gibson & Freestone, 2002; Searle, 1998b; Searle & Bounds, 1999a) ; on the socio-cultural changes with increasing younger populations and accompanying urban lifestyles and cultural imaginaries (Shaw, 2006; Vipond, Castle, & Cardew, 1998). This study takes an urban functional angle to investigate the transformations of Central Sydney in the context of contemporary globalisation. Based on the time series data from surveys on floor space and employment in Central Sydney in 1991-2006, this study systematically examines the functional changes through the lenses of industry divisions and space use divisions so as to identify and interpret their patterns. Next section is a literature review of theorising transformations of central cities in globalisation; the third sections provides a historic narrative of Sydney’s development in the post-World War II (WWII) decades as a backdrop; the forth section explains the methods and delimitation of the study area Central Sydney; the rest of the paper presents the results, discussion and conclusion.