The paper presents the analysis and systematization of information about the production of zirconium carbide. It has been shown that the basic carbothermic synthesis method is implemented in various options (furnace synthesis from traditional and highly disperse batches, crystallization-melting, plasma heating, in electrothermal fluidized bed). SHS process is not widely used, but may be in demand for multifunctional nanostructured films containing zirconium carbide. Mechanosynthesis produces nanocrystalline zirconium carbide, but in preparative amounts. Results obtained by plasma synthesis allow to consider it as the most promising of the known methods for producing nanostructured zirconium carbide. The deposition method of vapor-gas phase is focused on the formation of carbide film coatings and has no independent value for the production of zirconium carbide.