This article is devoted to a historiographical review of the issue of fishing among the Cossacks of Kazakhstan in historiography. The problem of studying the history of fishing is relevant in many aspects: social, economic, hydrogeographic. At the same time, this issue is of great importance not only locally, but also globally, as the issue of rational use of fish resources in order to preserve the environment, ecosystems and ecological balance is becoming more important. Fish resources have been important to people since ancient times. It was the appropriating economy that became the main source of human existence in the ancient era. Later, in the conditions of the Neolithic revolution, despite the emergence and development of the productive economy, fishing continued to have an important place in human life. To this day, its importance in fishing activities is great, especially for those regions where fish is the only source of survival. In the period of the XIX century among the Cossacks, fishing is becoming widespread. In Kazakhstan, since the creation of the Cossack troops by tsarism, the fishing load has increased. Fish for the Ural, Orenburg, Siberian and Semirechensk Cossacks of Kazakhstan has become not only a source of food, but also in some cases earnings