Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, significantly reducing the life quality of patients and negatively affecting public health in general. For a long period of time, this pathology has been studied exclusively from the view of gastrointestinal motility disorder and visceral hypersensitivity. At the same time, there is more and more evidence that a significant role in the disease pathogenesis can be played by the intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction It has been established that the penetration of antigens from the intestinal lumen into the internal environment can contribute to excessive antigenic stimulation and the low degree inflammation in the intestinal mucosa, characteristic of IBS. In recent years, a huge number of studies have been devoted to the research concerning the phenomenon of "increased intestinal permeability" and the search for targeted molecules for pathogenetic therapy of IBS, a brief overview of which is presented in this article. Correction of dysbiotic disorders through the use of pro-, pre- and synbiotics, fecal transplantation and enhanced resistance of the intestinal mucosa by prescribing cytoprotectors seems promising KEYWORDS: mucosal barrier, irritable bowel syndrome, increased intestinal permeability, leaky gut syndrome, probiotics, prebiotics. FOR CITATION: Belyakov D.G., Gaus O.V., Gavrilenko D.A. Mucosal barrier role in the formation of irritable bowel syndrome as a potential target for disease therapy. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2022;6(8):458–463 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2022-6-8-458-463.