Аннотация:The article discloses an increasing role of biodiversity in strategies of sustainable development of mountain areas. Unique character and attractiveness of mountain ecosystems due to significant biological, landscape and ethno genetic diversity and their sensibility to anthropogenic have beendiscussed. Estimation is given to biodiversity of North-East Caucasus based on Red Book List of animals and plants, significantly differentiated by regions and landscape zones. The greatest number of animals listed in the Red Book of North-East Caucasus is in Dagestan and Chechnya. Maximum biodiversity is found in mountain-forest and mountain-meadow zones, and minimal diversity is in the most developed inundable, low land and marine low-land landscapes.