This publication discusses theoretical and practical aspects of identifying a person by the signs of his appearance, methods and means of fixing information about the appearance of a person in order to establish his identity, the basis of forensic portrait examination. Such topics are considered as: "Habitoscopy - a forensic doctrine of a person's appearance," "Elements and signs of a person's appearance," "Methods and means of fixing a person's appearance," "Fundamentals of portrait examination," etc. Designed for students and teachers of law schools studying and teaching the discipline "Forensics," "Forensic examination," special course "Forensic technology."