The article highlights the essence of the concept of image and the image of a teacher of a higher education institution, analyzes scientific works devoted to this issue, highlights the results of a questionnaire survey and interviews, which made it possible to determine the respondents’ vision of those qualities and traits that should be inherent in teachers of higher education institutions.In order to assess the closeness of the connection between the specified features, the correlation coefficient of Spearman’s ranks was calculated and its value was checked for the significance of the connection. In particular, it was determined how important it is for students that the teacher has a scientific degree and title; own scientific articles, manuals and textbooks; and how important it is for the teacher to be a practitioner. It was found out whether students pay attention to how the teacher communicates with other teachers and students, how the teacher answers students’ questions and whether it is important for them when there is contact with the teacher on social networks and the latest technologies are used in the educational process; do students pay attention to how the teacher reacts to the opposite opinion, what are his manners in the process of interaction in the environment of colleagues and students, what appearance of the teacher impresses students more, etc.The importance (on the basis of a rank scale) of image characteristics indicated personally (answers to open questions) by both male and female respondents was determined. The following main characteristics of the image of a teacher of a higher education institution were noted: self-confident professional; has a love and flair for teaching; is able to convey information, interest, capture the attention of students; is able to clearly explain tasks and their evaluation criteria; objective and impartial; punctual, responsible in fulfilling commitments and keeping one’s word; friendly and open in communication; sociable, with a sense of humor; able to consider the psychological characteristics of students; has a suitable appearance. JEL classіfіcatіon: A22, Z00