The phone call between the two leaders came after Putins annual press conference in which he praised Trump.
"President Trump thanked President Putin for acknowledging America's strong economic performance in his annual press conference," the White House said in a readout of the call.
During the phone call, the two presidents also discussed working together to resolve the "very dangerous" situation in North Korea, the White House said.
Citing the markets and consumer confidence, Putin said Trump had "some quite serious achievements" to his credit in the short time that he has been the president of the United States.