Introduction. The article presents the results of a study of mechanisms for compensation for harm caused by a crime, operating in foreign countries with different legal systems. Attention is drawn to the legal features of the harm compensation for damage to persons who have suffered from crimes. An analysis is made of the possibility of introducing positive experience accumulated abroad in the considered area into the Russian legal system. Methods. The theoretical basis of the study is the works of domestic legal scholars devoted to the problems of harm compensation caused by a crime. The empirical basis of the study is the results of the analysis of translations of original foreign sources of law. The methodological basis of the study is general scientific techniques and methods of cognition: modeling, analysis, synthesis, formal-logical approach, specific scientific methods, generalization method (statistical analysis, including description and explanation of generalized facts). Results. Based on the results of the study of the institute and mechanisms of compensation for criminal harm to victims of crimes that exist in a number of foreign countries, it was concluded that in states with a Romano-Germanic and Anglo-Saxon legal system, the institution in question is more developed than in countries with a mixed legal system and Muslim countries.