A number of recent studies are trying to improve the quality and effectiveness of e-learning using principles of several research areas. This trend of personalization development also appears in e-learning. One of the ideologically closest fields of science is knowledge management (KM). The aim of this article is to identify overlapping points of KM and e-learning phases to improve the structure and transfer of personalized course knowledge using effective methods of ontology and metadata standards. This research offers a theoretical background of knowledge management principle implementation for the development of a practical personalized e-learning model.