The article defi nes and characterizes the factors and the degree of infl uence of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the ferrous metallurgy. To do this, the authors consistently have solved the following tasks: identifi cation of FDI factors that aff ect the performance of the steel industry; building an econometric regression model for the main companies of ferrous metallurgy of the Russian Federation on the basis of publicly available information and interpretation of the results of economic and statistical models. When writing the work the authors have used the methods of comparative analysis and synthesis of information received from various sources. Content analysis of analytical materials of leading domestic and foreign media has recently been carried out. Also, statistical data analysis was conducted on the basis of which (panel data) regression model was compiled, evaluated the method of least squares, which explains (dependent) variable advocated total revenue of metallurgical enterprises and explanatory (independent) – the amount of FDI, capital and materials in the enterprise. The study concludes that foreign direct investment is an important component of economic development and ferrous metallurgy. The positive eff ect of foreign direct investment is for large metallurgical enterprises, which have a larger share of foreign capital. The presented provisions and the conclusions of the work can be applied to the management of metallurgical holdings for the purpose of theoretical foundation of corporate development programs, as well as to the regional authority of executive power to identify ways of increasing the investment attractiveness of the region.