The article focuses on the housing needs of elderly people in Russia and worldwide. It discusses findings in international studies, as well as analyzes the results of surveys in Russia. Social policy of the most developed countries focused on care and social support of older persons at home during postwar time. However, in recent decades the image of older persons and purpose of social policy has changed. Now older persons are considered as important and productive agents in social life. International organizations currently place emphasis on the fact that older people possess knowledge, skills and experience useful for the community. For this reason, the UN and WHO have declared healthy and active aging as one of the priority goals of sustainable development for the coming decades. Recent findings on the housing needs of older people allowed to identify basic principles of agefriendly environment that allows efficient, healthy and active aging. The idea of universal design treats housing, infrastructure, open spaces and transport as a single space providing and supporting the needs of all groups of the population, without exception. The goal of healthy, active and successful aging, voiced by WHO, is relevant for Russia as well. The authors consider the housing needs of older people in Russia in the context of global trends. The study uses data of an expert survey and telephone interviews with older persons in Russia. Results show that it is important to engage older persons into activities beyond their homes. At the same time, there are barriers that are often overlooked: housing arrangements and living conditions. The survey of older persons highlighted the urgent problems that older Russians face at home and identified their attitudes to alternative forms of housing: nursing homes, specialized boarding houses and social homes.