Abstract: The concept of intangible cultural heritage is the extension of the concept of cultural heritage to the reach of intangibility. Its international identity has passed through a complex process, in which, the project of the “proclamation of oral and intangible heritage of humanity” plays an essential role. But, at the present time, the lawful foundations on appraisals of the “representatives of oral and intangible heritage of humanity” and the “world heritage” are different, and so is their legal status. Therefore, whether intangible cultural heritage can be listed as a kind of world heritage is still an issue deserving serious consideration.

Key words: oral and intangible heritage, world heritage, folk creation, legal status, intangible cultural heritage