Introduction: Saving and improvement of population’ health is one of the main priorities of the policy in any country. Studying of the level and causes of mortality is a powerful tool for assessing the effectiveness of health care systems. WHO recommends using of the European classification of preventable causes of death that based on three levels of prevention. The aim of this study is to compare the level and structure of mortality of the population of Ukraine and the Poltava region, to substantiate scientific approaches to the study and identification of those causes of death that can be prevented in order to formulate prevention programs at different level. Materials and methods: In research are used the information from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and from the Center for Medical Statistics of the MoH of Ukraine. Review: Despite the positive dynamics of mortality in recent years, both in the Poltava region and in Ukraine, the indicators remain extremely negative. About 73.3% of all fatalities in Ukraine are three main types of causes cardiovascular diseases, external causes of death and neoplasms. In the Poltava region, 70.56% of all causes of death are due to cardiovascular disease; neoplasms occupy 13.88%; external causes - 4.87%; diseases of the digestive system - 3,06%; respiratory diseases - 1.31% of the causes of death. Conclusions: The mortality rate both in the Poltava region and in Ukraine has tendency for declines, but remains rather high. General trends in the structure of causes of death: in the first place are diseases of the cardiovascular system, the second - neoplasms, the third -external causes. Structuring of the causes of death that based on the principle of prevention in Ukraine do not conduct.