Tóm tắt:      This paper attempts to identify the main factors affecting the process of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Thanh Hoa province in Vietnam. Forty one questionnaires were sent to foreign companies in many regions and ninety questionnaires were sent to government officials in Thanh Hoa province for observation. The survey results show that there are some factors that have been highly evaluated. Companies appreciate the value of shortening the time for investment licensing, the dynamics of provincial leaders and access to investment information and investment policies. However, many enterprises think some important factors such as compensation for land acquisition, land allocation and corruption control are not improved. Thus, these factors have negative effects on the implementation of investment projects in this province. The paper proposes some main policies that the local government should implement in the coming time in order to encourage FDI to this province.