The development of the cranial vault bone system is ensured by the sequential development and displacement of various rudiments, which merge, spread and take an indirect part in the formation of the face. The analysis of modern scientifi c literature allows us to come to the conclusion that, despite a number of scientifi c works in human anatomy, the morphogenesis of small bones of the facial skull remains an actual direction of modern medicine. As you know, the small bones of the facial skull include the lacrimal, nasal, zygomatic, palatine bones, the lower nasal concha, which are paired, and the unpaired – the scapula and hyoid bone. Primary ossifi cation of the lacrimal bone appears in the third month of fetal development. Among the anomalies of the nasal conchas, pneumatization, agenesis, and their doubling are quite often detected. The ossifi cation of the ploughshare develops from two connective tissue plates, which fuse together in the process of ossifi cation (beginning in the third month of embryogenesis). Ossifi cation of the nasal bone is determined from one point of ossifi cation, which appears in the third month of embryogenesis. The zygomatic bone undergoes the connective tissue and bone stages of development, the ossifi cation of the nucleus appears in the 8th week of intrauterine development. For a long time, the hyoid bone has been the object of anatomical discussions regarding the peculiarities of its embryonic origin, variants of its structure, position and function. Conclusion. On the basis of the conducted research, it can be stated that in the scientifi c literature there are isolated data on the development and formation of the small bones structure in the perinatal period of ontogenesis of the facial skull. Currently there are no comprehensive studies on the density of bone tissue, morphometric characteristics and correlative relationships of the small bones of the facial skull with the parameters of the face and skull as a whole during the fetal and early neonatal periods of ontogenesis. Last is the basis for determining the morphological prerequisites for the appearance of variants of the facial structure and its congenital defects and determine the need for further anatomical study.