The article provides an overview of archival documents related to Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694-1738), professor of the first staff of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Bayer’s research interests were quite diverse and included the study of the languages and culture of Asia, the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, history of the Black Sea region, origin of the Varangians and Rus’. Bayer’s documents are mainly concentrated in two repositories: the St. Petersburg branch of the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPbF ARAN) and in the Special Collections of the University of Glasgow Library (UGL). The article examines the history of the formation and composition of archival collections, as well as the most significant publications. In the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences there is a personal collection of Bayer, formed in the Soviet period. The fund includes two inventories: manuscripts of works and materials and correspondence of the scientist, with a total of 64 files. In addition to the personal fund, Bayer’s documents can be found in other funds and categories of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The archive contains notes, projects, organizational, administrative, personnel, financial documentation, including those related to Bayer’s activities as inspector of the Academic Gymnasium. Bayer’s papers in the University of Glasgow Library arrived there at the beginning of the 19th century. The collection is made up of documents sent shortly before the scientist’s death to Königsberg and includes draft articles, notes, various copies and extracts, correspondence, books from his personal library, a total of 261 items. Almost all the documents in Glasgow are related to Bayer’s orientalist interests. Complexes of documents in St. Petersburg and Glasgow include the scholar’s autographs. Most of the documents are manuscripts. There are a small number of printed books, including those of Chinese origin (UGL). Certain documents are duplicated in both complexes, for example, Bayer’s correspondence with Jesuit missionaries in China. The first publications of Bayer’s archival documents were made in the 18th century. Extracts from the documents appeared in various publications of the 19th century on the history of the Academy of Sciences. Several articles and monographs cited extensive quotations from Bayer’s correspondence. A significant number of items were abstracted and cited in the Catalogue of the Bayer collection in Glasgow. A few translations of Bayer’s texts are given in the new volume on the history of the Academy of Sciences. Bayer’s archival collections complement each other, allowing one to evaluate the academic research practices and trace connections and interactions in the 18th-century scholars.