According to the Strategy for Innovation Development of the Russian Federation, it is planned to ensure the continuity of the innovation cycle in the country with the help of the innovation infrastructure, the main element of which is Centers for Transfer and Commercialization of Technologies (CTTCs) – the guides of innovation to the market. When identifying the model and the strategy of creation and development of these organizations, it is necessary to consider the needs of the territory and follow a range of criteria, which determine the choice of a concrete way of forming the CTTCs. For this purpose it is reasonable to preliminary examine conceptual grounds of CTTCs that include substantiation of the need for creating a center, its goal and objective, the characteristics of the consumers (market focus), the directions and the resource provision of the center’s activities, the criteria for assessing the center’s efficiency, etc. Thus, the goal of this study consists in developing conceptual grounds and criteria for creation and development of CTTCs. The object of the study presents the organizations engaged in transfer and commercialization of technologies that are members of the Russian Technology Transfer Network and operate in the Russian Federation. The subject of the study is processes of organization of operation and development of CTTCs. The following methods are used in the study: analysis, comparison, generalization, induction. The study allows identifying and circumstantiating the criteria of CTTCs formation based on the generalization of the practices of functioning of such centers.