Introduction. One of the priority tasks of modern higher education is the development of personal qualities, the spiritual and moral development of the future teacher. Implementation of the educational potential of the strategy of continuous literary education in the system of professional training of a student-philologist, a future teacher of literature, contributes to the solution of methodological goals and tasks facing the Russian system of higher education in the XXI century. The purpose of the work is to highlight the leading positions that implement the educational tasks of the strategy of continuous literary education in the system of methodological training of a literature teacher at a pedagogical university. Methodology and methods: comparative analysis, synthesis and generalization of scientific works on the research problem, abstraction and specification. Research results and discussion: the entire system of higher pedagogical education, starting from the end of the XIX century, is focused not only on improving the subject, methodological training of future teachers, but also on the development of the spiritual and moral image of the teacher him/herself, the formation of a system of his/her value guidelines. The article identifies key positions in relation to the strategy of continuous literary education, which contribute to solving educational problems at the stage of professional training at a pedagogical university. Conclusions: the identified educational potential of the strategy of continuous literary education presupposes the development of the professional and personal qualities of a teacher of literature: his/her ability for moral self-improvement, spiritual development, self-esteem, and individually responsible behavior; hard work and optimism in life, readiness to overcome professional difficulties and the development of a sense of personal responsibility for the Fatherland before past, present and future generations.