The problem of criminal law protection of the cultural heritage of mankind is one of the most relevant in modern criminal law. Law enforcement practice has difficulties in qualifying the destruction or damage of cultural property. Most often, this is due to the definition of a set of crimes while encroaching on both religious feelings and cultural values. The urgency of solving this problem is growing due to the threat of destruction of cultural values due to man-made and natural disasters, as well as as a result of anthropogenic activities. These circumstances determine the relevance of the study of the problems of social conditionality of criminal liability for destruction or damage to cultural heritage sites, cultural values. The purpose of the article is to analyze the factors of social conditionality of criminal liability for criminal offenses in the field of protection of cultural values, the task of the article is to characterize the types of social harm as the basis of factors of social conditionality of these offenses. The article examines the factors of social conditioning of criminal liability for criminal offenses in the field of protection of cultural values, gives a characteristic of the types of social harm as the basis of the factors of social conditioning of these offenses. The article proves that the destruction or damage of cultural heritage objects, natural complexes, cultural values cause harm, is expressed not only in the direct loss of unique objects and objects that accumulate the centuries-old spirit of history, the foundations of material and spiritual culture, but also personify the absolute beauty and perfection of human talent and abilities, but also in the destruction of the very centuries-old spirit of the historical and cultural development of mankind, therefore, the harm from damage to this or that historical monument is necessarily reflected in all the above areas. It is concluded that the destruction or damage of cultural heritage sites are characterized by encroachment on public morality, which is expressed in the active influence of destruction or damage of cultural heritage sites included in the single state register of cultural heritage sites, identified cultural heritage sites , natural complexes, objects taken under state protection, or cultural values on cultural, historical, archeological, scientific bases of public life.