The article provides a general analysis of a domestic civil law mechanism of protection of business reputation of citizens and organizations. The paper determines the elements of the most widespread and obvious crime resulting in depreciation of business reputation of subjects of civil legal relations, i.e. defamation (communication of false statements defaming the honor and dignity or business reputation of the claimant); the author provides a comprehensive definition of each particular element. The paper provides a critical assessment of the views of other scholars concerning the elements of the crime in question. The author reasonably infers elements of two offenses related to defamation - according to the author's terminology - disinformation and discredit (the former is included into the current Russian legislation, the latter is proposed to be included into positive law). While defamation is given pride of a specific place among offenses that are detrimental to the business reputation of individuals and legal entities, the author identifies other possible ways to depreciate this intangible benefit and highlights their multivariance. The article contains an overview of the system of ways available under civil law to protect business reputation of citizens and organizations; the criteria formulated in the legal literature and the methods of their classification are subjected to critical analysis. The paper suggests the author's division of special ways of protection of business reputation into primary and derivative ones depending on what is the main purpose: Rehabilitation manipulations with the damaged business reputation itself, or elimination of negative consequences caused by impairment of business reputation in the activity of the subject of protection. The classification described in the paper is aimed at strengthening control over effectiveness of the use of appropriate protective instruments. The authors express a positive attitude to compensation of intangible harm caused to legal entities as a promising way of protection of business reputation under civil law. The paper analyzes the problem of measures taken to secure claims related to the protection of business reputation of citizens and organizations in the form of injunction that prohibits further communication of defaming information about a claimant. The author emphasizes the importance of respecting the balance between the constitutional principles of freedom of thought, speech and mass information - on the one hand, and inviolability of private life, protection of dignity and good name - on the other hand.