Background: The problem of anorexia nervosa has become more and more important in recent years due to the increasing incidence of the disease among children and adolescentsб as well as lack of efficacy of therapeutic measures. The aim of the study: To study modern literature data on the problem of anorexia nervosa, its prevalence, diagnostic criteria, physiological and psychological consequencesб and treatment methods. Materials and methods: The study is based on all available literature data for 2012-2018 contained in the databases of PubMed, Medical-Science, Elibrary, Web of Science, Scopus. Results: The prevalence of anorexia nervosa in the population is 1.2% among women and 0.29% among men. The clinical picture includes mental, endocrine and digestive disorders. Anorexia nervosa syndrome occurs in various forms of mental illness. Treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa includes several stages. Firstly, the nonspecific or emergency stage is aimed at eliminating the severe consequences of malnutrition and is carried out only in a hospital. After the normalization of vital functions when the food is absorbed normally and the weight increases, the stage of specific treatment can be started. The next stage of treatment is rehabilitation. Anorexia nervosa is accompanied by high mortality of patients. Approximately 30-40% of them die after 10 years after the onset of the disease. Mortality increases with the duration of the disease. The causes of death in anorexia nervosa include pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and intercurrent infections. High mortality also occurs as a result of suicide. The prognosis of treatment for anorexia nervosa depends on the timely diagnosis of this disease and its complications, on the correctness of the therapeutic tactics of decisions and the patient's desire to conduct therapy and recovery. Conclusion: Anorexia nervosa is a serious and difficult to treat disease which requires the involvement of many specialists in the selection of a complex therapy.