The paper presents the currently available methods for assessing the health status of children and adolescents, the basic principles in the organization and performance of prophylactic examinations in children, including the assessment of their physical fitness, as well as the methods and criteria for assessing the phychophysiological development of adolescents, their social adaptability and autonomic stability. It also contains the currently used basic criteria for assessing the health status of children, as well as their health groups. The high effectiveness of children's health promotion in educational establishments can be achieved, by applying the basic principles in the organization and implementation of prophylactic and health-promoting measures.