The textbook (first edition published in 1997) presents a picture of the organic world of the past, which appeared 3.8 billion years ago. General provisions and basic concepts of paleontology are presented, including the history of paleontology, forms of preservation of fossils (fossils), patterns of evolution; habitat, conditions and lifestyles of organisms in marine and terrestrial environments; bionomic zones of the oceans; biomineralization and fossilization; the role of organisms in sedimentation and rock formation; significance of paleontology for the geological and biological sciences.