Objectives <p>To evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of universal cements (UCs) to dentin prepared with different diamond burs using various adhesive strategies.</p> Materials and methods <p>One-hundred-twenty molars were prepared to expose the mid-coronal dentin. The teeth were divided into two groups according to diamond bur preparations: coarse and super-fine grit burs. The specimens were bonded to lithium disilicate discs using two UCs (RelyX Universal, RXU and Panavia SA Luting Multi, PSA) with different adhesive strategies (self-adhesive, SA; self-etch, SE and etch-and-rinse, ER). SBS was measured using a universal testing machine. The cement-dentin interfaces were observed using scanning electron microscopy.</p> Results <p>Dentin SBS was significantly influenced by the adhesive strategies and the type of UCs (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) but not for the different diamond bur preparations (<i>p</i> &gt; 0.05). UCs used with ER had significantly higher SBS values than UCs used in SA mode (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), except for PSA with super-fine diamond bur. RXU in SE mode exhibited significantly higher SBS than SA mode (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Regarding UCs, RXU showed a higher SBS than PSA, particularly in the SE modes when the dentin was prepared with a coarse diamond bur (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05).</p> Conclusion <p>The use of UCs combined with universal adhesives exhibited higher dentin bonding performance compared with the use of UCs alone.</p> Clinical significance <p>The etch-and-rinse mode combined with a universal adhesive is recommended to achieve the highest dentin bond strength of universal cements.</p>