Abstract: Value orientations are an important aspect in every person's life, defining one's views, beliefs and goals. And since students occupy a special place in shaping the future of society, studying and understanding their value orientations will help scientists develop social programs and strategies to improve the quality of life. Also, the study of value orientations will help in understanding and forecasting sociocultural trends. The following aspects are considered in this article: the essence of value orientations; various approaches to their study; foreign and domestic scientists engaged in research in this field; trends affecting the specifics of value orientations, as well as the importance of value orientations in modern society. The sample consisted of students of various higher educational institutions of the city of Barnaul (n=390 people). The study involved students from Altai State University, Altai State Pedagogical Institute, Altai State Medical University, Altai State Agrarian University and Altai State Polytechnic University. The selection method was a quota sample with elements of spontaneous selection of respondents. During periods of significant social change, when new values replace old ones, the study of personal value orientations becomes especially important. Throughout life, a person finds himself in various social environments, such as family, educational institutions, peer groups and employees. Each of which conveys its own values that influence the formation of individual values of a person. Value orientations are a social reaction to the course of public life, which indicates their variability and dynamism. Value orientations are an interesting social phenomenon to study, especially within the framework of an ever-changing socio-economic policy. Modern youth in their behavior and priorities are very different from the children of the last century. Our task is to study this thesis from a scientific point of view to find scientific evidence for this.