The article is devoted to the role of special subjects in developing professional competence of the student publisher. The main attention is paid to the importance of the editiontextological research in the editorial-publishing process. The issue of the appearance of the term «textology» is represented. The main methodological concepts of textology as a scientific discipline are revealed. The main attention in the article is paid to justification of relevance and practical importance of textual disciplines in the process of preparation of bachelors and masters of publishing. The author focuses on the problem of scientific publication of the classical text, observance of the «creative intention of the author», the choice of the source of the main text. The article reveals the meaning of the basic terms of textology and edition practices. The ability to formulate the definition of the concept is considered as a necessary step in solving the didactic problem. The publication contains examples of problem tasks developed for practical training in textology as a branch of philological discipline and the field of edition activity.