The relevance of knowledge of the process of formation and development of operational investigative science, and its methodological foundations, is due to the need for the correct choice of further directions of actual scientific research and the cumulative nature of scientific knowledge. In particular, the methodology of any of the Sciences should be aimed primarily at identifying the features of the implementation of fundamental laws in a particular field of activity, including law enforcement, and includes operational-search activity. The purpose of the research is to study the historical stages of formation and development of the operational-search branch of scientific knowledge, as well as the methodology of the Russian operationalsearch science. The object of the research is the historical and methodological (philosophical) aspects of operational-search activity as a new branch of scientific knowledge. The study used dialectical, systemic, structural-functional, and historical methods of cognition. The research result is formulated in the conclusion that operational investigative science has its own methodology, which is understood as the study of special methods of cognition of objective reality in the field of operational-search activity. It is aimed at fixing such reality without taking into account its subjective perception by a specific researcher. This reality is considered as a system of fundamental principles, ways and methods of forming the theory and practice of operational-search activity.