In the development of flotation enrichment the Soviet industry has had tremendous achievements. With the rapid development of practice, the lag of theory is particularly acute. Anyone who is directly involved in the study of ores for enrichability or the solution of practical problems in the field of enrichment, is well aware that even in laboratory conditions for each new more or less complex object of study the solution has to be sought by torturous experimentation. In most cases there is no theoretical justification of the solution found. The lag between theory and practice is largely due to the fact that the pace of development of theoretical work still does not match the pace of development of industry, and the direction of theoretical work is not related to the nodal iss.s of practice. The shortcomings of theoretical works in the field of flotation include: lack of planning, lack of sharp criticism, insularity and leaving the field of flotation theory to professional theorists, sometimes disconnected from practice. The present discussion should help to eliminate these deficiencies as quickly as possible, to help choose the right path for further progress.