The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of the modern comparative study of the history of philosophy, which are related to the need to understand the non-European philosophical tradition. A history of comparative study of philosophical traditions before the 20th century is given. Among the pioneers of this direction are Solomon Maimon, Carl Reinhold, I. G. Herder, W. Tenneman, P. Doissen. Then the methodological discourse of contemporary philosophy is defined, which demonstrates an anthropological accent, not only forming a new type of global philosophical and methodological reflection but also personal preferences of historians of philosophy aimed at forming a new type of historical-philosophical study. As an example, John Plott's five-volume World History of Philosophy is analyzed and compared with other works of this type, especially comparative history of B.-A. Scharfstein's philosophy. Plott was worried about the global perspective of the history of philosophical thought, presenting a comprehensive approach to the creation of historiography of all major types and most Eastern cultures up to the 14th century. A brief analysis of some chapters of his work is given. J. Santinello, D. Passmore, D. Cooper, B.-A. Scharfstein did a great job in this direction. The latter compares arguments of African, Indian and Chinese thinkers without bias and evaluates them with the same rigor as European thinkers. The conclusion of the article is that the methodology of historical and philosophical analysis assumes that the comparative method is not an end in itself, but serves certain cognitive tasks, being a means of expanding the possibilities of historical and philosophical research. The comparative approach sets new guidelines for the consideration of the contemporary historical and philosophical process, including philosophical traditions and thinkers not only of the West, but also of the East, Asia, Latin America and Africa.