Every year, the importance of conducting marketing research of territories in order to form a territorial brand and increase the competitiveness of the territory increases. At the same time, it is worth noting that earlier marketing research was in demand within the territories of countries that compete annually for the flow of tourists, qualified personnel, etc., now marketing research has become in demand at the level of regions, cities. Marketing research of the territory makes it possible to create favorable conditions for economic and social development in it, which can lead to such positive consequences as an increase in the standard of living of the population, infrastructure development, and income growth within the study area. Based on this, it can be judged that the topic of studying modern scientific approaches to conducting marketing research of the territory and its competitiveness is relevant. The article considered the levels of assessment of the quality of territory development, the stages of the marketing cycle of territories, the features of the analysis of the external environment of the territory. Universal tools for conducting research of the territory were also considered, which include benchmarking, SWOT analysis, STEP analysis, and GETS analysis. At the last stage of the study, the existing models of competitiveness, indicators and factors of competitiveness of the territory were considered. The study concluded that there are a sufficient number of scientific approaches to conducting marketing research of the territory and its competitiveness, but there is no single approach that would allow the territories to develop qualitatively and achieve a high level of competitiveness.