The article analyses the theoretical provisions of the system of environmental crimes in the Russian Federation. The positions of modern authors concerning the main characteristics of the crimes studied are studied. The main objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive definition of the concept of "environmental crimes", highlighting their characteristics and its relationship with related categories. The relevance of the present study is first determined by the steady growth of quantitative and qualitative indicators of national crime, which indicates the inefficiency of existing mechanisms of criminal law counteraction to environmental crimes. The author believes that the resolution of applied problems directly related to the practical activities of law enforcement agencies is possible only with the resolution of basic theoretical issues, among which a special place is given to theoretical and conceptual aspects of environmental crimes. Thus, the problematic of the concept and characteristics of environmental crimes is of particular importance, especially in the light of the lack of a legislative approach to the definition of the category in question.