The Seventh Directorate (Surveillance) handled surveillance, providing personnel and technical equipment to follow and monitor the activities of both foreigners and suspect Soviet citizens. Much of this work was centered in the Moscow and Leningrad areas, where tourists, diplomats, foreign students, and members of the Soviet intelligentsia were concentrated. The Al'fa (Alpha) counterterrorist group was subordinated to Seventh Main Directorate. Alpha was involved in many counterterrorist and internal-security missions since its formation in 1974 and was heavily active in special-operations tasks in Afghanistan.

The Surveillance Directorate employed some 3,500 professional suveillance specialists, in addition to other management and support staff. The Directorate was divided into twelve Departments.

1st Department - citizens of the United States and Latin America
2nd Department - foreign journalists, students, and businessmen
3rd Department - non-Americans
4th Department - non-Americans
5th Department - militia guards at each foreign embassies
6th Department - Soviet citizens considered for KGB employment
7th Department - surveillance equipment
9th Department - leadership security
10th Department - Moscow hotels, parks, museums, theaters, stores, stadiums, and air and rail terminals
11th Department - paraphernalia employed in surveillance.
12th Department - mobile surveillance teams for sensitive operations