The history of the beginning and the results of the Sino-Vietnamese war in February-March 1979 have always been in the focus of historians' attention. This period in the history of the two countries is interpreted differently in China and Vietnam. There are different approaches to understanding the causes of the war of their participants. The study of the current situation between the two countries through the coverage of these events in Russian historiography is of fundamental importance. The objective study of the Sino-Vietnamese War by Russian historical science begins at the beginning of the XXI century. The historiographical analysis of the works of domestic scientists devoted to the military conflict between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam allows us to draw the following conclusions. Firstly, this conflict has not yet been fully investigated. Secondly, additional information is required, which is not yet available to researchers, since the archives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of China and Vietnam are still closed. Thirdly, all the Ossetian authors conclude that the main cause of the conflict was China's unconstructive position.