The manual systematically and in an accessible form presents the main theoretical approaches that determine the direction and nature of sociological research. Concepts of the classics of structural functionalism (T.) are considered. Parsons, R. Merton), historical materialism (K. Marks, F. Engels), critical theory (M. Horkheimer, G. Marcuse, T. Adorno), theories of social exchange (J. Homans, P. Blau), the theory of rational choice (J. Coleman), symbolic interactionism (G. Bloomer, E. Hoffmann), phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology (P. Berger, T. Luckman, G. Garfinkel), the theory of communicative action (Y. Habermas), theory of structure (E. Giddens), Constructivist Structuralism (P. Bourdieu), theories of self-referential social systems (H. Luman), postmodern social theory (M. Foucault, J. Baudrillard). The problem of multi-paradigmality in modern sociology is analyzed and the author’s solution of this problem is given. For students of the specialty "Sociology"