Abstract. This paper discusses the specific character of gentrification processes in Polish cities, with a particular focus on Warsaw, Łódź and Gdańsk. It explains the forces and factors behind gentrification, and highlights its types and effects as well as the gentrifiers. It also addresses the problem of the absence of reprivatisation law in Poland. The paper concludes that gentrification processes in Polish cities occur in a different way and less intensively than in Western cities. They often have a localized character, mostly in the form of new-build gentrification carried out by developers and state-led gentrification with significant participation of the public sector.