The purpose of the article is to study methodological aspects for economic evaluation of development status of the irrigation agriculture. Research methods. In the research process has been used the integrative function of philosophy, which involves systematic and holistic synthesis, as well as synthesis of various forms of cognition, domestic and international practice of irrigation. Among general scientific methods of empirical research has been used comparative and historical method, with which by comparison have been found general and constituent in the theory of impact assessment and knowledge of different assessments for the irrigation agriculture development. In addition, there have been used the following general methods: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, idealization, generalization, analogy, and systematic approach as a basic one. Research results. On basis of analysis of existing methods for determining quantitative and qualitative indicators for development of the irrigated agriculture, it has been established that at various levels of the economic hierarchy, task for effectiveness evaluating will be quite diverse in content, but related to the research results and information provision, which is extremely problematic due to the fact of limited reporting of agricultural producers nowadays. In this regard, criterion or measure of effectiveness must be developed in accordance with terms of specific tasks that can provide simple but sufficiently comprehensive performance characteristic for each type of tasks separately with reflection their most important aspects. Elements of scientific novelty. Scientific novelty lies in justification of necessity of using the universal economic indicator “productivity of irrigation water” as a criterion for assessing the quality of water resources management at different hierarchical levels and efficiency of the crop production in current conditions of water resources deficit in Ukraine. Practical significance. The research results have practical significance for expert environment due to the fact of possibility to obtain more complete and objective characteristics of development status of the irrigation agriculture and efficiency of the water resources utilization at different levels of management. Tabl.: 1. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 17