The article is devoted to the main directions and features of trade and money circulation of the Byzantine Empire. Describing the main sectors of the economy, the author notes that it was based on agriculture. Agriculture, viticulture and livestock were its main industries. At the same time it is noted that in the Middle Ages Byzantium was the most urbanized country. There were more than 1,000 cities with Constantinople, the largest of them. The author notes that the Byzantine cities were not only important administrative but also economic centers. It was characteristic of the Byzantine economy that a quarter of the gross national product came from handicrafts and trade. Describing trade, the author of the article notes that Constantinople was not only the capital and residence of the emperor, but it acted as an intermediary in trade between West and East. Convenient and safe routes have contributed to the growth of trade. Iron, perfume, spices, opium, and precious stones were imported from India; silk was exported from China; from Iran - soft wool; from Asia Minor - meat and metals; from Ethiopia - slaves. Thin linen was imported from the West to Byzantium, and Constantinople was not only a consumer of these goods, but also a center of commission trade and resale. The author also pays attention to Russian-Byzantine trade relations. Russia exported to Byzantium part of the tribute and military booty, especially slaves and raw materials. It imported mostly expensive fabrics, various ornaments, weapons, spices, etc. In the second part of the article the author refers to the Byzantine trade of the XII- XV centuries. During this period, immigrants from the Italian cities of Genoa, Pisa and Venice were in significant competition with Byzantine merchants. The Venetians, who established a powerful colony in Constantinople, became especially famous in this regard. Gradually, the empire lost control of its own economic and financial resources, which contributed to a huge uncontrolled outflow of Byzantine capital to Europe. The conclusions note that trade facilitated the exchange of goods not only between Byzantium and the West. It became a powerful leader of Byzantine cultural influence on European countries. However, cultural dominance contradicted Byzantium's economic backwardness of European countries. External defeats and internal problems increased the empire's dependence on foreigners, and duty-free trade, although filling the market with many European and Asian goods, quickly led to the decline of Byzantine crafts and the degradation of agriculture.