The NA57 experiment aims to investigate the production of strange and multi-strange particles in nucleus-nucleus collisions at CERN SPS. NA57 has been specifically designed to extend the study of Λ, Ξ and Ω as well as the Kos (and their antiparticles) production pattern in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions, as a function of the centre-of-mass energy and in a wider centrality range than its predecessor WA97. In this paper we recall the main features of the NA57 set-up and we report on the status of the processing and analysis of data samples collected in 1998 with a lead beam at 158 A GeV c-1 and in 1999 with lead and proton beams at 40 A GeV c-1.

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