The analysis of literary sources on the research of the above-mentioned topic was carried out and it was determined that the most important task of modern education is the education of a healthy generation, the conscious attitude of the individual to his health and the health of others, the formation of physical, moral and mental health, the perceived need for physical improvement, development of interest and habit for independent physical education and sports, acquisition of knowledge and skills of a healthy lifestyle. The peculiarities of the implementation of health-preserving competence in physical education classes in higher education institutions are revealed. The main implementation problems and ways to solve them have been identified. It has been proven that health-preserving competence is one of the main factors in the process of physical education and the involvement of student youth in physical activity. During training, the teacher must pay attention to the performance of movements by students, evaluate them and set new movement tasks in a timely manner. The teacher's remarks and instructions should be such as to accustom students to independent analysis of the performed movements. Training should begin with the types of athletics that are most accessible and necessary for the development of basic physical qualities, such as running. First, it is a run for medium and long distances, and you need to focus on the swing step technique. Having mastered the technique of running for medium and long distances, they begin cross-country running, and after that they teach running at high and maximum speed, that is, for short distances.