Topicality. Today the ability to create and apply innovative technologies largely determines the competitiveness of both individual economic entities and the economy as a whole, ensuring the economic power of the state and the prosperity of its citizens. One of the most urgent tasks in Ukraine today is the introduction of such an approach to the management system of innovative potential of human resources, which could ensure a sufficiently high level of development of the market of innovative technologies, combining economic interests of the state and business with interests of employees and society as a whole. In turn, it will increase the country's innovation potential. Aim and tasks. This research aims to improve the theoretical and methodological provisions for defining the economic essence of the concept of "innovative potential of human resources" as one of the main components of innovation potential. Under the aim, the following tasks were identified: 1) to explore the definitions of some economic categories that preceded the emergence of the concept of "innovative potential of human resources"; 2) to determine the main aspects of increasing the human role in the modern economic system; 3) to offer the author's approach to the definition of such a category as "innovative potential of human resources"; 4) to consider the basic structural elements of the innovative potential of human resources. Research results. The definitions of some economic categories that preceded the emergence of the concept of "innovative potential of human resources" were explored in this article. The results of our analysis show that we can identify six main aspects of increasing the role of man in the modern economic system: innovative, economic, administrative, social, political, and psychological. The category of "innovative potential of human resources" we mean as a set of interconnected both quantitative and qualitative characteristics, opportunities, intellectual and creative abilities of personnel that can be realized in specific economic, social, political, historical, organizational, technical, and spiritual conditions to ensure the achievement of the goals of innovative development of economic entities (countries) in order to make a profit and/or achieve certain social effects. The innovative potential of human resources can be considered at the level of the country, territory, business entity, and individual employee and consist of such basic structural elements as a physiological, educational, intellectual, professional, and socioeconomic component. The state of development of the innovative potential of human resources, depending on the level, can be characterized by several special indicators. These components, in our opinion, have priority in the formation, use, and restoration of innovative potential of human resources, which allows us to offer them as a basis for its economic evaluation. Conclusion. The results of our research allowed us to draw the following conclusions: 1) innovative potential of human resources as a structural element of economic and innovative potentials of the territory determines the formation, use, and development of other components of such a system; 2) the author's approach to the definition of innovative potential of human resources is offered in the work, which we mean a set of interconnected both quantitative and qualitative characteristics, opportunities, intellectual and creative abilities of personnel that can be realized in specific economic, social, political, historical, organizational, technical and spiritual conditions to ensure the achievement of the goals of innovative development of economic entities (countries) in order to make a profit and/or achieve certain social effects; 3) for the development of the innovation system it is necessary to constantly increase the level of innovative potential of human resources, maintaining and developing it. Further research in this area will allow us to identify the main problems and develop recommendations, on that base, to increase the level of innovative potential of human resources in the context of the development of the market of innovative technologies in Ukraine.