The article discusses the historical and source study aspect of the study of documents on property rights to natural lands and economic objects of the «Zadniprskikh places» of the Hetman region, as an integral part of sources on the history of the settlement and economic development of this territory during the 17th - first half of the 18th centurie. It is determined that since the beginning of the 40s. XVIII century the chief foreman of the Hetman and regimental foreman of the Mirgorod and Poltava regiments, with the approval of the Russian imperial government in the zadniprovsky territory, strengthen and spread the policy of colonization in its depth, from the Dnieper and Tyasmin rivers, in the direction of the Sinyukha and Bug rivers. But the determining factor in the settlement and economic development of the territory of the «Zadniprskikh places» was the so-called «people’s colonization», since the vast majority of documents with property rights belong to ordinary cossacks, but under the constant control of the cossack regimental and hundred foremen of the Hetman. As a result of summarizing the information available in the documents with ownership rights, the fact is confirmed that at first the «soils» (this broad concept in the period of the 17th – first half of the 18th centuries included land, water, forest natural lands) went to officials, the cossack foreman , cossacks and villagers on the rights of borrowing, or provided for the service, and then they started and sold, handed down, donated.All these operations had to be legally consolidated, that is, to obtain written confirmation from the city, hundred, regimental, general governments. Thus, in the hands of the owners there are certifying documents on the ownership of the «soils» – government fortresses, merchants, generalists, spiritual and donation records, etc. The study of documents with ownership rights to the zadniprovsky «soils» of the Mirgorod and Poltava regiments gives us the opportunity to draw up a certain idea of the right of ownership – possession, use and disposal of natural lands and economic objects, the legal process when transferring ownership of them during the XVII – first half XVIII centuries. The documents contain a wealth of factual historical, legal, economic, philological, toponymic, registered and genealogical materials

territory of the «Zadniprskikh places» of the Mirgorod and Poltava regiments of the Hetman; natural lands; documents with ownership of the «soils»