Background. Salicylic acid is a phenolic compound of natural plant origin with hormonal properties. Salicylic acid is involved in the formation of plant resistance to stressors of biotic and abiotic nature. Drought is one of the most common stressors inhibiting growth, development and yield of plants. Fatty acids are important components of membrane organelles and plasmalemma. Changing the ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids affects the properties of cell membranes and is an important component of the formation of plant resistance to stressors such as low or high temperatures and drought. Methods. To study the changes in fatty acid composition that occur in plants under the action of salicylic acid and drought, we determined the content of fatty acids in the shoots of plants using gas-liquid chromatography. The effect of salicylic acid on the content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in shoots of 12-day plants Zea mays L. and Triticum aestivum L. in the drought conditions was investigated. It was found that the content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the shoots of Zea mays L. and Triticum aestivum L. decreased under drought conditions. At the same time, salicylic acid in the concentration of 0.5 mM initiated an increase in the content of these compounds under stressful conditions. The lipid unsaturation index – the ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids – was also determined. Results. The increase in lipid unsaturation index under the influence of the salicylic acid in the shoots of Zea mays L. was insignificant. Drought caused a significant decrease in this indicator mainly due to a decrease in the pool of saturated fatty acids. Under the combined influence of drought and salicylic acid, lipid unsaturation index significantly increased relative to that of drought. The increase in lipid unsaturation index correlated with changes in the accumulation of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in the shoots of the studied plants. Determination of lipid unsaturation index in Triticum aestivum L. showed that in plant shoots under the conditions of moisture deficiency there is also a significant decrease in lipid unsaturation index. This is mainly due to a sharp decrease in the content of unsaturated fatty acids. At the same time, under the combined influence of salicylic acid and drought, the lipid unsaturation index decreases even more. Conclusion. Despite similar trends in the impact of salicylic acid and drought on the content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the two studied plant species, some differences were observed: under stressful conditions, salicylic acid caused an increase in lipid unsaturation index in Zea mays L. and a significant decrease of this index in Triticum aestivum L. Keywords: Zea mays L., Triticum aestivum L., salicylic acid, drought, fatty acids