Introduction. In the context of the intensification of intercultural interaction as a key component of the global development of modern society, the understanding of personal characteristics that ensure success in intercultural communication is particular importance. Looking for the solution to this issue, American Professor Christopher Early and Professor Soon Ang, Singapore University of Technology, proposed the concept of cultural intelligence, defined as the ability to function and interact effectively across cultures. This concept has been recognized in foreign studies, but so far poorly covered in the Russian psychological science.

Objective: Analyzing the concept of cultural intelligence and selecting the main trends of the empirical research.

Procedure. The paper analyzes the theoretical background of the concept of cultural intelligence, provides an overview of empirical studies of cultural intelligence and other phenomena of intercultural interaction, examines the main methodological tools for studying cultural intelligence.

Findings. The key areas of empirical research on cultural intelligence over the past 15 years are highlighted, the main methods for measuring cultural intelligence are presented, and further research perspectives are proposed.

Conclusion. The concept of cultural intelligence that appears across modern theories of intelligence by H. Gardner and R. Sternberg is extremely relevant to the modern world of global processes in the context of “culture and intelligence” issues. Cultural intelligence is very effective in a specific context, e.g. intercultural relations, the importance of which increases across cultures. Cultural intelligence is studied on a par with other types of intelligence, and also personality traits (Big Five personality traits). This concept has received particular popularity in the research field of organizational and management psychology. Nevertheless, there are a number of significant phenomena of intercultural communication, including ethnic identity, which offers new research points in relationship with cultural intelligence.