A problem of screen reading arises in the conditions of education digitalization: it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of students' perception and understanding of digital text when creating and introducing digital educational resources into the educational process. This makes the phenomenon of digital reading a relevant object of study for numerous sciences, at the junction of which it is possible to get an objective idea of how the process of screen reading proceeds, what text properties affect it and how the fears about predominant skimming, shallow digital reading are justified. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of modern foreign and domestic studies of digital educational text and the features of digital reading in an educational context. In this regard, full-text articles and scientific reviews, monographs and dissertations in English and Russian were selected. Empirical studies take a special place in the review, where the linguistic and semiotic features of digital text are taken as independent variables, and observable reading parameters, such as reading speed and reading comprehension quality, act as dependent variables or recorded metrics. The scientific review made it possible to identify the main trends in this scientific direction. The terminology instability is observed that entails difficulties in the interpretation and generalization of research results. The phenomenon-generating properties of digital text are revealed: hypertextuality, interactivity and multimodality; however, there are contradictions between scientists about how these properties affect digital reading. Similar contradictions are found in the studies of the effectiveness of digital reading versus reading in print. It is noted that the works that confirm the negative impact of the digital format on the reading results have the greatest resonance; however, a significant amount of research has now accumulated which does not show significant differences between the formats, on the contrary, the advantage of digital reading over paper is revealed. In general, the review demonstrates the consensus of scientists on the fact that the processes of digital reading and reading in print are based on different cognitive mechanisms and strategies. The conclusions made on the basis of the review are interpreted in the article in relation to education. Thus, it is noted that the accumulated data on digital reading in general and on the influence of certain parameters of the educational text on this process can and should become the basis of an evidence-based approach to the design of educational resources. The importance of a conscious choice of the format depending on the tasks is suggested, taking into account the advantages and limitations of digital reading. Teaching conscious digital reading at all levels of education is claimed to be promising.