The article discusses the methodology of comparative analysis in relation to literary studies. The author defines the main goal of comparative studies of literary facts as identifying similarities and differences between objects based on a comparison of structural elements of various levels (theme, plot, image, language and style, etc.) Among the tasks of comparative analysis, the author of the article includes epistemological, logical, methodological, methodical, axiological tasks. The importance of each stage of comparative analysis is considered in the context of obtaining new knowledge about the objects of comparison and understanding the relationships between them. Typical situations that arise in the process of comparative analysis (comparison of literary facts and phenomena that coexist in the same place and/or time, or differ in place and/or time of their existence) are also described in detail. The author lists and characterizes in detail the criteria for evaluating the results of the comparison, as well as the conditions for ensuring the reliability of the results of the comparative analysis. Special attention in the article is paid to translation as an object of comparative literature. The emphasis is on the role of the translator as an intermediary in the process of intercultural artistic communication, as well as on possible aspects of comparative study of the original text and its translation