Bioresource collections represent a way of preserving biodiversity, making it accessible to many generations of researchers. The complex of bioresource collections of St. Petersburg State University is presented by about 40 bioresource collections, consisting of both preserved specimens and living organisms. The total number of specimens in the bioresource collections of the University exceeds one million. The history of the formation and study of bioresource collections reflects the history of the development of the University as a whole. Although some samples of the collections are more than 300 years old, many were obtained in recent years. The oldest bioresource collections of the University are the herbarium and the educational and scientific museum collection of invertebrates; examples of the newest collections involve the collection of genetically modified lines of laboratory animals, the collection of model species of naturally transgenic plants and natural transgenes, and the collections of insect genetic materials. In general, current bioresource collections of SPbSU are divided into five groups: (1) herbarium; (2) zoological collections; (3) botanical garden; (4) collections of microorganisms; (5) genetic collections. Bioresource collections of SPbSU are actively used both in the educational process and in scientific work. In this review, we discuss in detail the bioresource collections of SPbSU focusing on their current state, application, and future prospects.