The article examines the significance of aphoristic expressions in persuasive discourse as one of the most concise and pragmatically effective means of speech influence. Persuasive discourse is analyzed as a specific type of communicative interaction aimed at shaping the recipient’s opinions, evaluations, and behavioral attitudes. Particular attention is paid to aphoristics as a means of argumentation, axiological marking, semantic generalization, and enhancement of expressive impact. The study describes the main functions of aphoristic units in persuasive discourse, including argumentative, evaluative, expressive, suggestive, and text-forming functions. It also considers the ways in which aphoristic expressions are incorporated into political, media, and pedagogical discourse, as well as the specific features of their application in the practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The linguistic and didactic potential of aphoristics is substantiated as a tool for developing communicative, linguocultural, and pragmatic competencies of learners, including the formation of argumentation skills in persuasive speech.