Mining and geological conditions for the development of new fields are becoming more difficult every year. Accordingly, the requirements for ensuring the environmental and technological safety of the drilling process are becoming more and more important. To ensure such a process, it is necessary to use correctly selected drilling fluids with proper characteristics: rheological parameters sufficient for effective cleaning of the well bottom, density sufficient to create back pressure, fluid loss to ensure a high-quality filter cake. Modern environmental requirements dictate the abandonment of hydrocarbon-based solutions. But when using water-based solutions, there are no suitable solutions, especially with their high density, since the use of barite can lead to a decrease in reservoir productivity. In this regard, the analysis of the problem and the search for options for creating water-based drilling fluids, weighted without the addition of barite, having the properties of maintaining the stability of the wellbore, ensuring safe drilling and opening productive formations without damaging the reservoir characteristics, was carried out. Such a solution was found in changing the base of the drilling fluid - highly mineralized fluids or solutions based on saturated brines. Brines must be created on the basis of inorganic salts that have good solubility, for example, chlorides, bromides. Due to the content of salts, the fluids have an inhibitory effect, and depending on the volume of dissolution, the density of the drilling fluids can be controlled. The scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists analyzed in the article have been published over the past five years, which indicates the relevance of this development. The selected compositions are presented and theoretically investigated, which were also tested in the field conditions.