Since the 1970s, human thought has witnessed major transformations found in the emergence of new concepts such as the knowledge economy, sustainable development and globalization in its new guise, and then the digital economy in the mid-1990s. In addition, foreign direct investment has emerged as an economic activity and one of the aspects of international relations and is consistent with these transformations. The research included four topics, the first of which is something in the concept of the knowledge economy, the second is something in foreign direct investment, the third is the knowledge economy as an engine to attract foreign direct investment, and the fourth is Iraq between the knowledge economy and attracting foreign direct investment. The research came out with conclusions, including that the development of human capital is the key to the knowledge economy and the main engine to attract foreign investment, and then Iraq's lack of elements of the knowledge economy was a major disruption to attracting this investment, especially administrative and financial corruption and the faltering dealing with information and communication technology. The most important of the research recommendations was the need for an educational, scientific, research, technological, informational and digital environment to support creativity, innovation and invention , as well as the need to establish a supreme council for the knowledge economy in the state , and also the formation of e-government as the starting point for the knowledge economy and make this prevail all the activities of state institutions, as well as ensuring the availability of the appropriate investment climate.