The article focuses on the methodology of comparative analysis as applied to literary studies. The authors identify the primary objective of comparative studies of literary facts as the identification of similarities and differences between objects based on the comparison of structural elements at different levels (theme, plot, image, language, and style, among others). To the tasks of comparative analysis the authors of the article refer epistemological, logical, methodological and axiological tasks. The significance of each stage of comparative analysis is evaluated in the context of acquiring new knowledge about the objects of comparison and understanding the relationships between them. Typical situations that arise during the process of comparative analysis, such as comparing literary facts and phenomena that coexist in the same place and/or time, or differing in the place and/or time of their existence, are also described in detail. The authors provide a comprehensive list and detailed characterization of the criteria for evaluating the results of comparison, as well as the conditions for ensuring the reliability of the results of comparative analysis. The article devotes particular attention to translation as an object of comparative literary studies. The focus is on the role of the translator as an intermediary in the process of intercultural artistic communication, as well as on potential aspects of a comparative study of the original text and its translation.