This article is devoted to one of the most urgent problems of modern students – professional motivation, which significantly affects the future activity of a specialist. Features of formation of professional motivation of students in the course of educational activity in higher education are considered. In turn, professional motivation is an internal driving force that encourages you to develop yourself as a person, master and improve your professionalism. Questions are put forward about what its significance is for the student and how it should be formed in the educational process. The empirical study was conducted on the basis of the Abay Kazakh national pedagogical University. The study involved 78 1st-year students of the Institute of pedagogy and psychology. Diagnostic tools were used to assess the formation of students ' professional motivation. The program of empirical research included the results of the following methods: "Research of motivation of professional activity " by K. Zamfir (modified by A. A. Rean) and " Determination of motivation to study" by V. G. Katashev. The results of the analysis revealed high and low levels of professional motivation. Based on the generalization of research data, the author analyzes the features of the emergence and development of professional motivation of students during the training period.