Academic research of «legal tradition» category is presented. Scientific views that dominate in theoretical and comparative legal studies are defined. The author argues that content characteristics of «legal tradition» (that include features, sources, forms of realization and scope of spreading), as a rule, could be carried out only within a particular tradition in law.

 Building his own vision of legal tradition, the author relates the category of «legal tradition» historical features of legal system. Legal traditions are concrete manifestations of the historical features of law that determine the existence of a particular legal phenomenon or the legal system in general. The study of legal traditions reveals why society or group of societies united in civilization, formed such an image of law, that social significance of law, that legal system. Other meanings of legal tradition lead to its identification or mixing with the legal system or its elements. It is proved that the categories of «legal tradition» and «legal culture» are interconnected, both of them may be used to indicate a certain level of development of the legal system. However if the culture reflects a certain state of development, the tradition reflects ways and sources of this condition.

 The modes of application of the category of legal tradition in comparative law are given at the end of article. First of all, common basic traditions can be put to the basis of classification (typology) of the world legal systems. Secondly, pluralism as a feature of legal tradition allows to stress the «coexistence» of legal systems within the same family. Thirdly, research and consideration of legal traditions are important for understanding and directing processes of legal acculturation.