The relevance of the study is caused by the need for scientific analysis of such a new tool for activating the development of the regions of Ukraine as smart specialisation. The article briefly reveals the formation of the concept of smart specialisation in Europe, analyses the controversial approaches to the interpretation of the essence of its basic concepts, identifies the fundamental difference between smart specialisation and other mechanisms to enhance regions development. The article describes the erroneous practice of implementing smart specialisation approaches only in industry, indicates the possibility and relevance of their use in different sectors of the economy. The expediency of realization of the smart specialisation concept in Ukraine is substantiated; the benefits for the regions from the implementation of its approaches are defined. The article characterizes the algorithm and methods of introducing smart specialisation, which include the analysis of economic and innovation potential of the regions, as well as the entrepreneurial discovery process. Quantitative criteria of specialisation coefficients used in Ukraine to distinguish areas of smart specialisation are defined. Based on the analysis of the Regional development strategies of the oblasts of Ukraine for the period up to 2027, a generalized table of their smart specialisation areas has been formed. The article reveals the peculiarities of smart specialisation areas in terms of regions of the country, the main ones being significant differentiation by quantity, dominance of industries related to processing of agricultural products and other biological raw materials, dependence of selected areas on existing specialisation of economy in the region. Based on the analysis of smart specialisation sectors, they were found to employ a small number of population (8-10%). Groups of regions of Ukraine with similar sectors of smart specialisation, which may be the ground for their active cooperation, have been identified. It has been established that Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Chernihiv oblasts are currently registered on the European Smart Specialisation Platform (Platform S3). The advantages of smart specialisation, which make it an important tool for intensifying the development of the regions of Ukraine, are described.