The article examines and summarizes the theoretical foundations of the economic security of an industrial enterprise. It was found that the term "security" has a complex character, as it is used in various sciences, and that in economic theory, several types of security are distinguished by content, that is, depending on the spheres of public life and directions of human activity. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature, five approaches to determining the essence of the "economic security of the enterprise" have been identified. The first approach to determining the economic security of an enterprise is based on the concept of security against threats. The second approach, which consists in the fact that the economic security of the enterprise is considered as a state of efficient use of resources, which is closely related to the first approach. According to the third approach, the economic security of the enterprise is determined from the position of the ability to stable functioning and development. According to the following approach, economic security is defined as the presence of competitive advantages. According to the last view, economic security is considered as an opportunity to achieve goals. It is noted that a number of authors follow several approaches at the same time. On the basis of the conducted research, it was concluded that economic security is such a state of an industrial enterprise, in which it, using its resources, is able to ensure effective functioning and development. An industrial enterprise with a high level of economic security is able to respond in a timely manner and resist the negative impact of internal and external factors. Since this study examines the security of an industrial enterprise from an economic point of view, for an objective assessment of economic security, it is proposed to distinguish four functional components: financial, production-sales, technical-technological, and personnel, which are the basis of the economic activity of any industrial enterprise.