The article is devoted to the analysis of scientific works devoted to the adaptation of older people to modern reality, their adaptation in nursing homes, as well as the consideration of criteria for successful adaptation consisting of several stages including the time of adaptation and post-adaptation period. In the scientific works of foreign, Soviet and domestic scientists, the key problem of studying the condition of elderly people in nursing homes, difficulties of adaptation, factors affecting adaptation, is to solve the problem of adaptation of older people to modern conditions. The complex political and economic change that occurred in the former Soviet Union countries living in the post-Soviet space is the source of the problem under consideration. Therefore, studying the adaptation of older people to the new situation in a changing society in the next 30 years is one of the most pressing issues.