Bacteriophages are ubiquitous in our world, mainly in the oceans, soil, the water and food we consume. They can be used efficiently in modern biotechnology, as well as alternatives to antibiotics for many antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. Phages can be used as vehicles for vaccines both DNA and protein, for the detection of pathogenic bacterial strain, as biocontrol agents in agriculture and food industry. This review outlines the properties as well as the influence of different external physical and chemical factors like temperature and acidity on phage persistence. A better understanding of the complex problem of phage sensitivity to external factors may be useful for other researchers working with phages. Furthermore, the applications of bacteriophages were described in this paper as well.