Background. The contradictory nature of social inequality is manifested, on the one hand, in maintaining the social stability of society, and on the other, in the emergence of conflicts between social groups. The aim of the work is to identify the problems of the impact of social inequality on the functioning of society, highlighting the list of main indicators of its social stratification. Materials and methods. The implementation of research tasks was achieved on the basis of an analysis of the works of ancient scholars Aristotle, Plato, classical sociologists K. Marx, E. Durkheim, M. Weber, W. Sumner, representatives of the modern period of sociology P. Sorokin, T. Parsons. The works of domestic sociologists Z. T. Golenkova, O. I. Shkaratan, N. E. Tikhonova. Important attention is paid to the analysis of inequality by scientific methods of the main directions of social stratification: Weberianism, the theory of P. Sorokin, structural and functional. The methodological potential includes a method of analyzing documents based on the traditional approach, which allows you to compare stratification indicators and identify the most significant. Results. The problems of social inequality are studied, the causes of its occurrence, content, as well as the nature of the impact on the functioning of society are analyzed. The dual nature of inequality, both positive and negative, has been established. It has been revealed that it is advisable to describe inequalities using scientific approaches to the theory of social stratification of society. The main approaches of this concept are analyzed in order to highlight common subsystems and indicators. Conclusions. Deep social inequality creates unequal access for individuals to limited resources of material and spiritual consumption, and impedes the economic development of the state. The study of social inequality allows us to eliminate the causes of its occurrence, to reduce the effects of adverse effects on society. Stratification indicators express the role of various forms of social inequality in the economic, political, social, cultural spheres. To accurately determine the status of the individual in the social space, social system or team, the authors of the concepts considered use multidimensional stratification, in accordance with the forms of social differentiation. A comparison of indicators of social inequality allows us to conclude that the main objective indicators are economic, political and professional, and the main subjective ones are honorary.