Introduction. The facial nerve derives from the facio-acoustic primordium that gradually differentiates into the facial nerve and acoustic ganglion. At the end of embryonic period, all derivatives of the facial nerve are distinguished. Aim of the study. The aim of our study was to emphasize the peculiarities of the facial nerve embryogenesis. Materials and methods. The development of the facial nerve was studied on 39 series of sagittal, frontal and transverse cross-sections of human embryos at Carnegie stages 13-23 from the embryological collection of the Department of Normal Anatomy of the Belarusian State Medical University from Minsk. Results. At stage 13 the facio-acoustic primordium split into the facial nerve and acoustic ganglion. During stages 15-17 the intracranial connections of the facial nerve with the trigeminal and glossopharyngeal nerves were distinguished. The facial nerve appeared as a dark impregnated trunk, that later converted into a loose neurofibrous structure. The peripheral branching of the facial trunk into the temporofacial and cervicofacial divisions was distinguished at stage 14. At the beginning of stage 15 the parotid plexus branches were marked out. The geniculate ganglion appeared as an ovoid structure, consisting of nervous fibers and rows of growing neuroblasts. At stage 15 the chorda tympany nerve derived from the geniculate ganglion and it run between the auditory ossicles. At the end of stage 15, beginning of stage 16 the greater petrosal nerve was distinguished, and at its origin the nerve was thick, but slightly after that it continued into a thin twig that distally connected with the lesser petrosal nerve and then disappeared into the surrounding mesenchyme. Conclusions. The facial nerve derived at stage 13 from the facio-acoustic primordium. At stages 15-17 the intracerebral connections of the facial nerve with the trigeminal and glossopharyngeal nerves were well distinguished. The geniculate ganglion consisted of nervous fibers and neuroblasts in growth. The chorda tympany nerve was one of the earliest branches that derived from the facial trunk, and then the greater petrosal nerve appeared. The temporofacial division of the facial nerve was better developed in comparison with the cervicofacial one, and in the infraorbital region, it had a plexiform character.