The article is devoted to the main philosophical trends in Russian thought of the 19th century — positivism and materialism. The conditions of genesis and distribution of these directions are considering, the issue of the competitive relationship of positivism and materialism in Russian philosophy of 19th — 20th centuries is affected. Their common features and peculiar properties are characterized, highlights and creativity of the brightest representatives of this philosophical direction — Konstantin Kavelin, Pyotr Lavrov, Vladimir Lesevich, Élie Metchnikoff, Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Ivan Sechenov, etc.