Farid al-Din Attar of Nishapur, one of the most prominent representatives of Persian Sufi literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, played a significant role in the formation of Eastern mystical (irfani) thought. His literary legacy is closely associated with the development of the masnavi genre in Sufi poetry, the deepening of symbolic and artistic modes of thought, and the systematic poetic articulation of mystical concepts. Attar`s works exerted a profound influence on the philosophical and mystical worldview of many later Sufi poets, most notably Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi. The information concerning Attar`s life and literary heritage found in early sources is largely legendary in nature and often contradictory. The dates of his birth and death, as well as the number of works attributed to him, have long remained subjects of scholarly debate. For this reason, the critical and comparative study of Attar`s intellectual legacy is of particular relevance. The present article examines disputed aspects of Farid al-Din Attar`s biography on the basis of primary sources and academic research. It also provides a general characterization of the works whose authorship is considered beyond doubt – “Ilahi-Nama” (“Divine Book”), “Asrar-Nama” (“Book of Secrets”), “Manteq ut-Tayr” (“The Conference of the Birds”), “Mosibat-Nama” (“Book of Afflictions”), “Diwan” (Collection of qasida and ghazals), “Muxtar-Nama” (Book of quatrams), “Tadhkirat al-Awliya” (“Memorial of the Saints”).