The article examines the application of a risk-based approach to the regulation of environmental legal relations. The risk-based approach is mainly used in conducting state environmental supervision and municipal land control. At the same time, the possibilities of risk assessment can be used or are used in relation to other environmental legal instruments: environmental assessment, environmental insurance, environmental audit, environmental rationing. The possibility of using a risk-based approach in the formulation of environmental protection principles is considered, the relevance of the principle of presumption of environmental danger of the planned activity is analyzed, and the possibility of implementing the international principle of environmental protection into Russian environmental law is considered: the precautionary principle.