The relevance of the work is caused by the need to study the influence of a price factor on the commodity flows of Russian import-dependent mineral products. The aim of this study is the investigation of changes in world prices for import-dependent mineral products, definition of types of import-dependent mineral raw materials, the volume and share of imports of which depend on the price factor. Research methods: statistical, graphic, logical. Results. During the period of 1996–2016, the world prices for the following import-dependent mineral products: zinc concentrate, barite, graphite, refined tin, sodium chloride (rock salt), bentonite, soda, zirconium concentrate, alumina, hydrofluoric spar, chromium concentrate, feldspar, titanium dioxide (titanium pigment), bauxite, kaolin and refractory clays, increased. World prices have decreased for rutile concentrate and boric acid. The profitability of imports of commodity mineral products with prices lower than the world ones is obvious, but only if their supply is stable. But at the same time, it is likely that import supplies will stop quickly. The group of total import dependence with prices lower than the world prices – manganese ore, manganese metal, hydrofluoric feldspar, and ferroniobium, which can be stopped for non-economic (political) reasons, is of some concern. It is necessary to create national extractive industries, at least partially closing the deficit of these goods. The price factor acts by stimulating, at high world prices, a decrease in the import dependence of bauxite, bentonite, soda and molybdenum concentrate, and an increase in import dependence with a decrease in world prices for zinc concentrate and feldspar. A group of commodity types of mineral raw materials with import prices at the level of the world ones, changes in the volume of imports of which are regulated by non-price factors – refined tin, ferrovolfram, borax, silicomanganese, ferromanganese, graphite and ferromolybdenum. The critical group with a predominance of non-price factors also includes import-dependent products: tungsten concentrate, boric acid, sodium chloride (rock salt), chromium concentrate, ferrochrome, titanium dioxide (titanium pigment).