In the last decades there has been a surge in interest in the sphere of public administration caused by a particular form of interaction of government and business – public and private partnership. Unlike familiar forms of interaction of government and business, it has its own terms, purposes and mechanisms. Therefore the issue of differentiation of purposes and the role of government and business in implementation of public and private partnership projects are important. The characteristic features of interaction of government and business within public-private partnership are considered in the article. The analysis of the concept of public-private partnership is made, the purposes and the importance of government and business in public-private partnership are described, and the classification of elements of public-private partnership is given.