The article is devoted both to the analysis of interpretations of the term «attribution» existing in modern museology, and to the significance of attribution in the framework of the fund activities of the museum. An analysis of the data from the State Catalog of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation proves the existence of a problem associated with ignoring the attribution methodology by the employees of the funds. In this regard, the goal of this article was to substantiate the relevance of referring to museum attribution, its role in the formation of museum funds and the State Museum Fund of the Russian Federation. The attribution methodology is defined: methods for determining the value of objects of museum significance and their properties, the method of interpretation, the method of comparative analysis, the method of fixation and methods of visual study of museum objects.