The problem of optimization of geological exploration is complicated owing to the probability character of determinants, parameters and results of the exploration process and the difficulty in defining a object function. From the standpoint of methodology, five levels can be differentiated, namely optimization on the macroeconomic level, optimization on the enterprise level, the optimization of an exploration task, the optimization of the method and the optimization of technical tools. In the paper contents and methodical processes of solving the first three optimization levels, which are decisive, are presented.