There are about 273 quests in the base game of Skyrim. When including the major DLC expansions-Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn-the total number of quests rises to over 700

. The main questline itself consists of 17 required quests and 2 optional quests, which focus on the story of the Dragonborn and the return of dragons

. Beyond the main quest, Skyrim features numerous faction questlines (such as the Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, and civil war quests between Stormcloaks and Imperials), many side quests, Daedric quests, and miscellaneous quests spread across various cities and locations

. In summary:

• Base game quests: ~273
• Including DLC quests: 700+
• Main questline quests: 17 required + 2 optional

This extensive variety allows players to spend many hours exploring and completing quests in Skyrim