Abstract. Cavitation phenomena occuring in converging-diverging nozzle (Venturi tube) are described in the paper. A closed test circuit with possibility to control both flow rate and static pressure level were used. Loss coefficient was evaluated for different sigma numbers resulting in full "static" characterization of the nozzle. Visualizations of the cavitation pattern development were acquired and matched with evolution of the loss coefficient. Three cavitation regimes are described: partial cavitation, fully developed cavitation, supercavitation.