The purpose of the study is to form strategic guidelines that will serve as the basis for maintaining the economic security of the enterprise in order to increase its competitiveness. The relation between the concepts of «economic security» and «competitiveness» is considered and summarized. It is substantiated that competitiveness are in close connection with economic security: an improve in economic security leads to increase in competitiveness. The views of researchers on the factors of the external and internal environment that affect the economic security of business entity are systematized. As result of the study, the views of various scholars were analyzed, identifying the factors that, according to the authors, have the greatest impact on the economic security of the enterprise. The importance of determining the factors is substantiated, because of their influence on the difficulties with the analysis and forecasting of activities, as well as the implementation of strategic management of the economic security of the enterprise. It is determined that efficient management in any field of activity can be carried out only under the condition of the formation of an integrated system of such management, designed to solve the main tasks. Therefore, a necessary condition for ensuring the viability of enterprises in a market economy is a successful set of strategic guidelines in the management of the economic security system, which prevents the destructive impact of changes in the factors of both the internal and the external environment of enterprise. The key strategic guidelines for building the system of economic security of enterprise are identified. The stages of development of diagnostics of the state of economic security of an economic entity are formed. Prospects for further research in this direction is to build a system of strategic management of economic security as a means of improving the competitiveness of the enterprise’s activities