The article discusses the theoretical foundations of land management as land use planning activity and science in modern conditions. The land transformations have formed a new land system. The created land relations and land use system still have many features of a planned economy, and it is difficult to overcome that on the basis of the existing content and technology of land management and cadaster. We need new scientific basis for these activities. The article proposes to expand the object of research by including new functions of land – property, commodity, and object of traditional environmental management. This expands the content of the research subject and methodology. The main direction of improving research methodology should be aimed at taking into account the spatiality of the object and the subject of research. The applied nature of science makes it possible to base the directions of land management science on taking into account the actual manifestation of the functions of land in society.