This paper reviews peculiarities of interaction between enterprises of different sizes at a regional level in Russia on the basis of subcontracting. It defines basic conditions and organizational forms of such interaction related with circumstances of regional economic development. The paper also presents a comparison of American and Japanese subcontracting models considering possibility of borrowing certain specific features for the Russian conditions. It lists stable structures of interaction between small- and large-sized enterprises considering possibility of changing roles in integration schemes. On example of the Nizhny Novgorod region specializing in machine-building and metalworking, the most important peculiarities and perspective lines of subcontracting development in the medium run are reviewed.