Staphylococcus aureus is an important opportunistic pathogen of humans and animals. it produces extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are involved in cellular communication and enable inter-kingdom crosstalk, the delivery of virulence factors and modulation of the host immune response. The protein content of EVs determines their biological functions. Clarifying which proteins are selected, and how, is of crucial value to understanding the role of EVs in pathogenesis and the development of molecular delivery systems. Here, we postulated that S. aureus EVs share a common proteome containing components involved in cargo sorting. The EV proteomes of five S. aureus strains originating from human, bovine, and ovine hosts were characterised. The clustering of EV proteomes reflected the diversity of the producing strains. A total of 253 proteins were identified, 119 of which composed a core EV proteome with functions in bacterial survival, pathogenesis, and putatively in EV biology. We also identified features in the sequences of EV proteins and the corresponding genes that could account for their packaging into EVs. Our findings corroborate the hypothesis of a selective sorting of proteins into EVs and offer new perspectives concerning the roles of EVs in S. aureus pathogenesis in specific host niches. Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen that causes a broad spectrum of infections in humans and animals. In humans, these diseases range from superficial skin and soft tissue infections to life-threatening conditions that require hospitalisation and extensive medical support 1,2. This bacterium is also one of the main causative agents of nosocomial infections. In animals, S. aureus is notably responsible for ruminant mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary glands that dramatically affects animal health and welfare, milk quality and the economics of milk production 3. Mastitis is also the principal reason for the use of antibiotics in dairy herds 4. The wide range of clinical manifestations of S. aureus infections is likely associated with its huge arsenal of virulence factors, which include structural components and extracellular factors such as enzymes and toxins 5. Despite considerable efforts, the precise mechanisms underlying host adaptation, colonisation and interactions are not yet fully understood 6. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are used by many pathogenic bacteria as a secretory route to deliver toxic compounds to infected cells 7,8. EVs are lipid bilayer nanoparticles that range in size from 20 to 300 nm and are released by almost all cells in all domains of life 9. In Gram-positive bacteria, they are formed by budding and shedding of the cytoplasmic membrane. They play a pivotal role in cell-to-cell communication through their ability to transport bioactive molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, metabolites) from donor to recipient cells. The EVs produced by S. aureus can mediate the pathogenesis of infection in a variety of ways. They may be cytotoxic to host cells 10-12 , induce the production of cytokines 13-18 , contribute to biofilm formation 19 , mediate antibiotic