Objective — to investigate the awareness of the importance, clinical presentation and prevention of osteoporosis (OP) and fractures among the broad masses of the population. Subject and methods. А cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on a random sample of 2018 men and women aged 20—93 years whose diagnosis of OP had not been verified before. The respondents filled in a knowledge level (KL) questionnaire that consisted of 10 questions on OP and an additional questionnaire on its information sources. Results. Among the respondents, the women showed a higher awareness of OP than the men, as shown by the questionnaire as a whole and all 10 items separately. A significant non-monotonic relationship was found between OP KL and patient age with a peak at 40—59 years. However, due to the fact that the age-related relationship is non-monotonic, it cannot be confirmed by a correlation analysis. The Kruskal—Wallis one-way analysis of variance could reveal a statistically significant relationship of an age group to total knowledge scores (Kruskal—Wallis test: H (6, N=2013)=120.57; p<0.0001) and education levels (gamma-correlation coefficient, γ=0.339 (Z=–15.7; p<0.000001), suggesting that KL increases with the level of education attained. Moreover, there was a statistically significant relationship between the level of OP awareness and employment (Kruskal—Wallis test: Н (4, N=1711)=45.97; р=00001). The sources of information about OP from television and their physician were reported by most respondents, and internet or other information sources were least often used to enrich their knowledge of OP. Conclusion. The found low OP awareness suggests that the population should be extensively provided with educational programs. The findings allow one to identify population groups that should primarily undergo educational measures and have the most effective ways of getting information.