The history of formation and organization of the department of forensic medicine and development of forensic medical activity in the Urals remain to date poorly explored, there are no scientific studies in this direction. The article presents the biography of professor Ustinov Porphyriy Vasilyevich, the founder of the department of forensic medicine at the Sverdlovsk State Medical Institute, who headed it from 1935 to 1971. Professor was a leading forensic scientist who stood at the origins of domestic forensic science.