Abstract <p>This review is devoted to the analysis of megasporogenesis and the initiation of female gametophyte development in angiosperms. Megasporogenesis can be divided into three stages: differentiation of the sporogenous cell (megaspore mother cell); meiosis and megaspores formation; determination of the functional megaspore. Mechanisms of the differentiation sporogenous cell and its preparation for meiosis are considered; these include: genetic, epigenetic, physiological, and positional control, cytological changes, associated with the chromatin remodeling in the nucleus, the organelle distribution in cytoplasm, changes in the cell wall content. The importance of callose as a molecular filter for selective signaling controlling megasporocyte development is shown. Possible factors determining different types of megasporogenesis: monosporic, bisporic, and tetrasporic, are discussed. The morphology, distribution and dynamics of cellular organelles, as well as their relationship with the cytoskeleton during meiosis, appear to influence the determination of the mode of megasporogenesis. Analysis of the megaspore tetrad revealed factors that contribute to the predominant development of the chalazal megaspore. Some perspectives are proposed that should be addressed in further studies of megasporogenesis: polarization of the megasporocyte and its asymmetric division, participation of organelles in cytokinesis, the cell wall formation, as well as mechanisms for the absence of cytokinesis in the bisporic and tetrasporic types.</p>