Аннотация: The article deals with the specifics of legislative regulation of the legal status of witnesses after the judicial reform of Alexander II: in the second half of the XIX century, the most complete preparation of procedural legislation took place with its gradual correction and elimination of rudimentary provisions that do not correspond to the new era. The author came to the conclusion that the perception of the judge, previously limited by the formalized system of evidence, has changed: the court has been able to make a decision on the guilt or innocence of the defendant based on the internal conviction of the judges, formed on the basis of the considered evidence, including testimony. This means of proof is still perceived in this period as the Central evidence in the criminal process, but attention is already being paid to the features of the witness's personality and its influence on the degree of reliability of information.