A general theoretical analysis of the concepts of “crimes motivated by intolerance”, “hate crimes” and related concepts (such as “genocide”, “prejudice”, “xenophobia”) is provided in the article. The origin and meaning of the mentioned terms, their normative consolidation and practice of use in national legislation and international legal acts are analyzed. It has been proven that the concepts of “crimes motivated by intolerance” and “hate crimes” are close in meaning. As a legal category, crimes based on intolerance are a classification of a special type of crimes against a person caused by the feeling of intolerance felt by the subject of the crime towards a victim, a representative of another race, nationality, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. It was found out that the basic structure of crimes motivated by impatience consists of two mandatory points: 1) the specified action is a crime according to the criminal law; 2) the motive for such an action is prejudice, that is, a false opinion formed about someone in advance, without familiarization, and the associated corresponding attitude. The signs of hate crimes have been substantiated and revealed: a) it is an action caused by prejudice, which is recognized as a crime according to international and national criminal legislation; b) such crimes have a significant public danger, are an extreme form of discrimination; c) these are crimes in which the victim, the object or the target of the crime were chosen based on their real or imagined belonging to a certain vulnerable group, connection with it; d) such imaginary or real grouping can be based on any socially relevant features or characteristics. It has been found out that the unifying feature of crimes motivated by intolerance is always a motive – a prejudiced or real feeling of hatred, hostility, intolerance towards the “other”, a representative of an imaginary or real “not their” social group. The need to bring the national legislation in line with international legal norms regarding the use of the term “hate crime” and the need to legislate the specified definition are substantiated. Key words: crimes motivated by intolerance, hate crimes; genocide, prejudice, xenophobia, national, racial, religious enmity, criminal law qualification.