The intensity of the economic confrontation between the Entente and the Central Powers alliance during the First World War was growing constantly. The economic blockade, which the Entente tried to impose by any means, required systematic efforts to collect information about the situation in the economies of enemy countries, as well as about their attempts to break the blockade. Conducting economic intelligence has become an urgent necessity. The article presents an analysis of Russian experience in organizing the systematic collection of information in the field of economic warfare, based primarily on the study of archival documents. To coordinate the activities of various governmental bodies in the field of economic intelligence, an interdepartmental Committee for Restriction of Trade and Supply of the Enemy was created in Russia in August 1915. The permanent office (secretariat) of this committee became the center for the collection and analysis of various information provided by government organizations, which, in turn, collected it both within the country and abroad. The volume and variety of this information was quite large: from memorandums of the Allied powers governments to private letters and telegrams that aroused suspicions of the military censorship. Based on the information received, the head of the Committee P.B. Struve, and the specialists he regularly hired, compiled analytical reports on the situation in the economy of the most developed countries of the hostile camp — Germany and Austria-Hungary. The committee also facilitated the transfer of information to the appropriate Russian government agencies. It is not the purpose of this article to assess the effectiveness of Russian economic intelligence, however, in general, the first experience of forming an economic intelligence structure in Russia can be considered not unsuccessful.