The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the discretionary powers of the public administration of Ukraine. Carrying out theoretical studies of the legal categorical apparatus in the science of administrative law ensures the correct understanding of certain concepts, serves as a guide for the law-making activity of public administration, improvement of legislation and judicial practice in the consideration of legal disputes in the public sphere. Features of their legal regulation and prospects for improving interpretation and understanding are characterized. Based on the theoretical developments of administrative and legal science, domestic and foreign legislation, and the results of administrative practice, an analysis of a number of elements of the conceptual and categorical apparatus was carried out. Legal categories: ‘administrative discretion’, ‘discretion’ and their relationship with the concept of ‘discretionary powers’ were studied. The article draws attention to the fact that the presence of discretionary powers is a way to solve existing problems in the law enforcement practice of public administration and their officials and officials. Along with this, when talking about discretionary powers, the issue of the appropriate conceptual apparatus needs clarification and additional study. It is substantiated that all interpretations and concepts of the definition and interpretation of the concepts of ‘discretionary powers’ cannot be reduced to a single term and approach, the multifaceted understanding of the meaning of the concept of ‘discretionary powers’ is a peculiar scientific reflection of the instability and multifacetedness of social relations, and the legal regulation of public administration activities . It was concluded that the discretionary powers of the public administration should be defined as a set of their rights and obligations regulated by the norms of administrative law, to act at their own discretion. At the same time, discretionary powers should not be considered as absolute freedom of administrative discretion. Such limitation of discretion in the content of discretionary powers should occur in the limitation of state power through the guarantee of human rights. And this approach should be the basis of discretionary powers. Therefore, it is important to develop and at the legislative level establish the conditions and limits of the use of discretionary powers by state authorities and local selfgovernment bodies.