The article discusses the general and specific features of the formation of spatial representations in older preschoolers with mental retardation and older preschoolers with general speech underdevelopment. Spatial representations play an important role in cognitive activity and serve as the foundation for building an individual’s inner world, the psychological basis for successful schooling. The results of the study revealed the general and specific features of the formation of ideas about space in older preschoolers with developmental disorders of two nosological groups.