The article deals with issues related to the adoption of a procedural decision on the return of the criminal case by the prosecutor to the investigator for additional investigation. The analysis of the provisions of the current criminal procedure law allowed the authors to analyze the existing problems in the implementation of the procedural function of the prosecutor to return the criminal case to the investigator for additional production. It has been proved that the return of a criminal case for additional investigation acts as a means of correcting the violations committed by the investigators in the course of their additional investigation. The meaning of this institution is formed by the powers of the prosecutor to return criminal cases for additional investigation in cases when the criminal case cannot be sent to court. One of the main goals of the additional investigation is to establish the truth, which, as a result, contributes to the protection of the rights and freedoms of the participants in criminal proceedings, the adoption by the court of a legal and well-grounded decision. The authors substantiated the conclusion that criminal prosecution and supervision over the execution of laws are two independently existing state-power functions of the prosecutor's office, with their own tasks, goals, content and subject of legal regulation.