Introduction. In modern conditions, the most important task in the field of management of the agro-industrial complex of the region is to identify new growth points and competitive advantages of agricultural industries based on the rational use of available resources. The article analyzes the dynamics of the development of the production of leguminous crops and soybeans for the period from 1986 to 2020, the results of the analysis showed a significant reduction in the sown area of leguminous crops, this negative process continued until 2000, when the sown area of leguminous crops was 21 thousand hectares or 12 % of the average level of 1986−1990. Subsequently, the trend changed to positive. In general, the share of leguminous crops in the total structure of sown areas decreased from 7,7 % to 2,9 %. During the analyzed period, there were significant changes in the structure of the sown areas of leguminous crops, and its significant diversification took place. In 1986-1990, the predominant crops were peas and vetch-oat mixture for grain 86.2 and 13.1%, respectively, then on average for the period from 2016 to 2020, the share of lentils, lupine for grain, chickpeas increased signifi-cantly. In addition, soybeans became the leading legume crop in the Vadinsko-Mokshanskaya and Belinsko-Serdobskaya zones, the total area of this crop in the region in 2020 reached 42.7 thousand hectares, while in 2005 its sown area was 0.54 thousand hectares. The analysis of the production and placement of leguminous crops and soybeans showed that peas, lentils and soybeans have a significant development potential in the Vadinsko-Mokshanskaya and Belinsko-Serdobskaya zones, lentils, peas and lupin for grain in the Belinsko-Serdobskaya zone, lupin for grain, vetch and vetch-oat mixture should become a priority for the cultivation of legumes in the Nikolsko-Gorodishchenskaya zone. Further dynamic development of the production of leguminous crops and soybeans, based on minimizing the negative impact of the economic, agroecological and technological factors identified in the article that limit the expansion of production of these crops, is impossible without the imple-mentation of a set of scientific, production and organizational and economic measures outlined in the article.