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Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is hyperglycemia that is first detected during pregnancy and does not meet the criteria for manifest diabetes. The incidence of GDM worldwide varies from 1 to 14% and that in Russia is as high as 4%. Hyperglycemia during pregnancy is associated with the development of preeclampsia, the birth of a big baby, emergency cesarean section, birth trauma, and neonatal hypoglycemia. The fact that there is no well-organized screening for GDM in our country leads to that the diagnosis of this condition is delayed for 4-20 weeks in 50-60% of cases. The risk group distribution of pregnant women leads to the diagnosis of GDM only in 50% of cases. At the same time, pregnancy is accompanied by physiological insulin resistance so the latter itself is a clinically important risk factor for carbohydrate metabolic disturbances. The Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (HYPO) study has indicated that the previously used diagnostic criteria for GDM require reconsideration. There is a need for uniform standards for the diagnosis and treatment of carbohydrate metabolic disturbances during pregnancy. The concepts "diabetes mellitus (DM)" and "manifest (new-onset DM during pregnancy" and directly "GDM" require clear clinical and laboratory definitions. Furthermore, GDM is a risk factor for obesity, type 2 DM and cardiovascular diseases in the mother and her offspring in future.