The development of pedagogical education in the context of universality and increased social expectations for the effectiveness of pedagogical activity attests to the increasing role of a helping, prosocial activity of a teacher in relation to students, their parents, to the class team in almost all areas of educational, educational, independent activity, in the family, collective and other types of education. Despite the sufficient elaboration of the prosocial content of pedagogical activity in world science this content is not sufficiently developed in the works of Russian scientists. The aim of the study is to conduct a theoretical literature review to determine the nature and content of the prosocial orientation of pedagogical activity in modern conditions. The study was based on a theoretical analysis of information sources, discourse and content analysis from the perspective of different perspectives and approaches. As a result of the study, 4 approaches were identified that determine the essence of the prosocial orientation of pedagogical activity: as actions that are positively assessed by society; as the whole range of actions performed by a teacher for the sake of another and for the benefit of him; as a ratio of the part and the whole and vice versa in relation to the teacher's “helping behavior”; as a purely altruistic teacher behavior. The study first identified the problems of determining the nature and content of the prosocial orientation of pedagogical activity, contributed to the development of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the prosocial activities of teachers.