A 27-year-old man will appear before magistrates next week accused of throwing a shoe at Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao.
The man, who has not been named, has been charged with a public order offence and will appear in court in Cambridge on February 10, a police spokeswoman said.
He is alleged to have disrupted a lecture given by Mr Wen in Cambridge on Monday.
Onlookers said a shoe was thrown from the audience and landed several yards away from the Chinese leader. They said Mr Wen described the incident as "despicable".
Police said a man was arrested shortly after the incident and charged on Monday night.
Mr Wen had been asked to speak to an invited audience by Cambridge University.
Police mounted a large security operation and protesters raising concerns about Chinese policy in Tibet and human rights in China were kept well away from the premier as he arrived.
A demonstrator threw an egg when the premier arrived for an engagement in London at the weekend and police said they did not want any repeat of such attacks
But demonstrators complained that the police operation was "over the top" and designed to keep them out of Mr Wen's view.
