Purpose: to dynamically assess the age of prisoners, including those in specialized penitentiary hospitals. To study the significance of the problem of elderly prisoners in Russia. Methods. Studied the statistical data of the penitentiary system of Russia for 2015–2020. The proportion of persons in each age group was calculated and assessed in dynamics, including among persons serving sentences in medical and medical correctional institutions of tuberculosis and narcological profile. Results and discussion. There is a decrease in young people with an increase in the proportion of middle-aged and elderly people (p to the age structure of the incidence of tuberculosis in Russia. The proportion of elderly prisoners in tuberculosis hospitals is lower than in general hospitals. It was also noted that the proportion of elderly prisoners in drug treatment hospitals was significantly lower than in general hospitals and tuberculosis hospitals. Perhaps this is due to the accumulation of other health problems in representatives of this age group, requiring them to stay in hospitals of a different profile. Conclusion. The problem of older prisoners in Russia is growing, although its scale is lower than that in countries that regularly publish demographic information about prisoners. The increase in the proportion of elderly prisoners in the future will not allow significantly reducing hospitals, although it will not affect the reduction of beds in tuberculosis and narcological hospitals. In order to prepare for an increase in the proportion of elderly prisoners, it is advisable to study the epidemiology of diseases in prisoners depending on age, both in Russia and in countries with a high proportion of elderly prisoners.