Objective. To study the effect of a family history of addiction on the development of addiction (heroin|) in respect of age, dynamic (duration of searching for psychoactive substances, first use, beginning of systematic use and development of abstinent syndrome) and qualitative (therapeutic resistance, remissions) parameters. Material and methods. Authors examined 127 male Russian unrelated patients, mean age 27.3±4.4 years, with ICD-10 diagnosis Opioid Dependence (F11.2). Results: A family history of addictions (FHA), mainly of alcoholism, was recorded in 60% of patients. Spearmen's correlation analysis revealed that the differences were related with FHA. Patients with no FHA differed from those who had more than 2 relatives with addictions. Patients having one relative with the diagnosis of addiction had an intermediate position. In the group with no FHA, patient's age had no effect on the disease course, therapeutic resistance; the duration of therapeutic remission was correlated with the time of transition from alcohol consumption to heroin addiction. On contrast, in patients with FHA, age and dynamic parameters were significantly correlated; the duration of remission was determined by the time needed for the development of addiction and the appearance of abstinent syndrome. Conclusion. The results provide evidence for existence of several forms of the disease related to the impact of genetic factors. Further studies will help to elucidate a specific clinical phenotype of the disease and its "hereditary" forms.