The article is concerned with the contemporary principles of organizing inpatient psychiatric care. The authors analyze the negative aspects of the territorial principle in structuring the work of mental hospitals and in the specialization of the inpatient capacity. On the basis of the experience gained and the results of the study, they suggest the specialization of psychiatric hospitals according to the functional principle, i. e. depending on the functions carried out and age-related and nosological characteristics of inpatients. Thus, in organizing or reorganizing psychiatric hospitals, it is recommended setting up specialized departments intended to implement specific tasks: diagnostic, expert, therapeutic, rehabilitation, etc. The advantages of such specialization of the inpatient capacity of hospital departments are substantiated. The advisability of the organization of hospital departments in psychiatric care without sex segregation is emphasized because it is an important factor in the rehabilitation of patients.