This scientific article is devoted to the analysis of the role of import substitution in providing support for small and medium-sized businesses. The relevance of the chosen topic is indisputable, since under the influence of foreign economic sanctions pressure, the implementation of import substitution policy is a necessity, however, at the same time, one of the key tasks of the state is to provide support for small and medium-sized businesses. The identification of the impact of import substitution on the system of support for small and medium-sized businesses allowed us to formulate recommendations and further ways to develop internal economic cooperation between the state and the private sector. Against the background of long-term Western sanctions and structural problems inherent in the Russian economy, further deepening of the import substitution strategy has become an urgent, inevitable and realistic choice for Russia to protect its sovereignty, security and development interests. At the same time, small and medium-sized enterprises play a special role in the Russian economic system, which, at the same time, are one of the target groups targeted by measures to implement the import substitution policy. Due to Russia’s lag in the development of key technologies, the West views export control as one of the most important means of imposing sanctions, hoping to impose an international blockade and isolation against Russia, reduce the upper limit of national development and undermine Russia’s economic growth potential. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that the implementation of the import substitution policy in the Russian Federation is largely associated with the support of small and medium-sized businesses, while the recommendations and possible ways of development also indicate the relationship between the import substitution policy and the provision of support for small and medium-sized businesses.