Psychologists and philosophers have more than once pointed out P.Ya. Galperin's affinity to the activity approach. However, P.Ya. Galperin in his own writings never directly stated how his views related to the activity approach. The article analyzes the main principles of A.N. Leontiev's activi-ty theory and their representation in P.Ya. Galperin's publications. Analysis of P.Ya. Galperin's publications and archive materials allows the author to make the following conclusion: P.Ya. Galperin's theory is part and parcel of the activity approach, but stands out among other variations of the approach in its treatment of the subject and method of psychology.