Abstract Given a monoid S acting (on the left) on a set X, all the subsets of X which are invariant with respect to such an action constitute the family of the closed subsets of an Alexandroff topology on X. Conversely, we prove that any Alexandroff topology may be obtained through a monoid action. Based on such a link between monoid actions and Alexandroff topologies, we firstly establish several topological properties for Alexandroff spaces bearing in mind specific examples of monoid actions. Secondly, given an Alexandroff space X with associated topological closure operator σ, we introduce a specific notion of dependence on union of subsets. Then, in relation to such a dependence, we study the family 𝒜 σ , X {\mathcal{A}_{\sigma,X}} of the closed subsets Y of X such that, for any y 1 , y 2 ∈ Y {y_{1},y_{2}\in Y} , there exists a third element y ∈ Y {y\in Y} whose closure contains both y 1 {y_{1}} and y 2 {y_{2}} . More in detail, relying on some specific properties of the maximal members of the family 𝒜 σ , X {\mathcal{A}_{\sigma,X}} , we provide a decomposition theorem regarding an Alexandroff space as the union (not necessarily disjoint) of a pair of closed subsets characterized by such a dependence. Finally, we refine the study of the aforementioned decomposition through a descending chain of closed subsets of X of which we give some examples taken from specific monoid actions.