Аннотация:The history of studying folk soil terminology is discussed, and the present state of this branch of pedology is characterized. The article stresses the significance of some studies on folk soil terminology and outlines the role of Russian scientists in the development of ethnopedology. The author mentions that V.V.Dokuchaev not only studied and popularized the folk names of soils, but also carried out polemics with the supporters of the ethnopedologic approach in the investigations of the soil cover. Dokuchaev showed the limitations of applying the interview method in soil surveys. These limitations are the result of the nonuniformity of folk soil terminology. The modern interest in ethnopedology is regarded as a return, at a higher level, to the methods that were widely employed in Russia in the 19th century.