The article reviews typologies of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners' values values, attitudes and ownership objectives. Private forest management is primarily a voluntary action with few legal constraints. Forest owners are largely free to decide which management activities they pursue in their forests. The characteristics of the forest holding, owners' values and attitudes towards forestry, and objectives concerning their own forest property are each important factors that affect management decisions. Theoretically well-founded attitude or value typologies have been rare in the NIPF literature. The adoption of universal socio-psychological value theories is restricted by their generality and inability to adequately depict forest values. They can be employed as the basic theory of human requirements that are present also in the relationship between humans and nature. However, more specific theoretical value typologies towards nature or forests have been presented and also empirically tested. Empirical typologies concerning concerning the objectives of forest ownership or motivations for forest management have been more commonly created and adopted, and from the practical point of view they have been more useful. forest management behavior is basically volitional. Knowledge of forest owners' values, attitudes and landowner objectives and their impact on actual behavior is therefore important when planning and implementing public forest policies concerning non-industrial private forestry. Such knowledge is essential, for instance, when matching the supply an contents of forestry extension services to the varying motivations of owners. The identification of owner groups with different values, attitudes and objectives by readily observable owner and holding characteristics is crucial in this respect, but, unfortunately, too often ignore.