Social phobia is a very frequent mental disorder affecting in some stage of life up to 13% of the population, and it may be associated with serious health complications (frequent comorbidity with affective and other anxiety disorders, with addictions, more frequent suicidal behaviour) and socioeconomic consequences (increased health care consumption, trend of lower education, poorer adaptation to work, higher demands on social support). The concept of this disorder was in modern classification systems (DSM and ICD) adopted only recently at the beginning of the eighties. The author describes basic approaches to the classification of social phobia, its diagnosis, course and treatment. Cognitive behavioural therapy and some modern antidepressants, in particular of the RIMA type, are effective in these patients. Social phobia, a formerly neglected disorder, has become a fully accepted constituent of the spectrum of anxiety disorders.