Since moorings and anchorages for vessels have recently become an important factor in nautical tourism, selecting their future locations is a complicated and responsible process. In this doctoral dissertation, numerous criteria are analysed to determine the most favourable locations of anchorages, meeting the conditions prescribed by the recommendations but at the same time meeting the expectations of the future users, spatial planners, possible investors and concessionaires who would operate in these areas, as well as the entities that strive to preserve and protect marine life and the environment and prevent its degradation and pollution. However, since there are no precisely defined recommendations for the establishment of nautical anchorages, the procedures for determining the location of nautical anchorages may feature the general criteria that must be met. A comparative analysis of several methods of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) using a number of criteria shows that the determination of the best locations of nautical anchorages requires a specific and systematic approach and professional knowledge of several different fields, including the knowledge and expertise in the fields of spatial planning and construction, seafaring, maritime safety, maritime traffic, architecture, geodesy, shipping, biology, ecology, mathematical programming, operational research, information technology, environmental protection, as well as other expertise profiles. The best locations of nautical anchorages should be selected based on the size, number of vessels, available space, depth, distance from the coast, degree of protection of the waters, and many other limiting factors, recognising that those locations that simultaneously meet a greater number of important criteria are better. As part of the marine water area, the anchorage provides safe anchoring for vessels and is one of the links in the maritime transport infrastructure, particularly in nautical tourism. The basic purpose of anchorage comes from the definition that implies safe anchorage, which is also the basic assumption and condition without which it has no purpose. Anchorages can be divided according to their purpose, and the basic division is into nautical anchorages and anchorages for ports open to public traffic. The anchorage is a part of the water area equipped for the berthing of vessels in a bay or cove protected from the weather, so safe anchorages are mostly located in such areas. Open anchorages are located in unprotected waters and are intended for short stays of vessels. These anchorages are used for ports open to public traffic and are not equipped with commercial infrastructure. This doctoral dissertation will investigate the methods of MCA in the selection of the best locations for future concession fields of nautical anchorages. The possibility of obtaining an optimal solution in the process of selecting the locations from a group of possible ones will be explored by methods of MCA, evaluation and classification of criteria, and assignment of weight values to selected criteria. The most important criteria when applying MCA methods will refer to the criteria of the safety of navigation, hydrometeorological, spatial, economic, and environmental criteria. This approach allows for comprehensive and systematic problem-solving in order to achieve optimal solutions when determining the best future areas for nautical anchorages. The dissertation's main contribution is the proposal to optimise the decision-making process when determining the optimal locations of nautical anchorages based on the previously defined criteria.