Russian cement industry is in decline. Enterprises operate on the basis of technologies developed in USSR. In this connection such fundamental issues of the enterprises functioning, as energy efficiency, environmental safety, resource-saving, resources provision and others, are overlooked. The paper attempts to define the priorities of the Russian cement industry development based on the experience of developed countries. The most promising technologies for the designated key areas were described and their benefits and drawbacks were identified. Due to the major role of the raw resources in Russian economy, the issues of increasing the efficiency of cement plants, should be discussed with considering the efficiency of mining enterprises extracting mineral raw materials needed for manufacturing process. Given the significant investments required to the industry modernization, which can not be achieved through government support, it is proposed to create conditions for the development of the integrated companies. In addition, a key factor that can ensure the sustainable development of the industry is a cross-sectoral co-operation, which will allow to organize a low-waste production cycle with a minimal costs of raw materials.