abstract: The work presents the status of acidification of soils in the province of Silesia, taking into account the causes and effects of the process. Further the work presents the total requirement for calcium fertilisers and the costs of soil liming in the particular communes of the province. Analysis of nearly 80000 soil samples, performed in the years 2004-2009, indicates that in the province of Silesia highly acid and acid soils constitute 49% of the area of arable lands. The highest acidification of soils is found in the districts of Kłobuck, Częstochowa, Żywiec, Wodzisław, Zawiercie, and also Lubliniec, Myszków and Mikołów. In 32 communes of the province the area of such soils exceeds 70% of the area of arable lands. The high share of soils with pH below 5.50, classified in the category of medium-heavy and heavy soils, indicates that in the region under analysis the dominant factor in the acidification of soils is the anthropogenic factor. Among the anthropogenic factors considered, the strongest effect on soil acidification was that of the emission of SO2 (46.7%), smaller the emission of NOX (30.7%), and the least - fertilisation (22.6%). Neutralisation of soil acidification attributable to industrial gas emissions alone (SO2, NOX) requires the application of 0.718 t CaO ha-1 at 4-year intervals. The dominant share of acid industrial pollutions in soil acidification results from their emission which, in the area of the province of Silesia in the year 2007, in the case of SO2 was 3.4-fold, and in the case of NO2 - 4.12-fold greater than the national average. The quantities of calcium fertilisers applied within the recent years are not enough even to maintain the current values of soil reaction. As a result, in the period of 2004-2009 in the region under analysis the share of highly acid soils increased by nearly 5%. Acidification of soils reduces their level of basic nutrients and increases the bioavailability of heavy metals, which causes a decrease of the level and reduced quality of crop yields. The total requirement for calcium fertilisers in the province of Silesia is 1.57 million tons of CaO. The costs of liming, covering the price of the fertiliser and transport, have been calculated at 188.3 million PLN. In 132 communes those costs do not exceed 2 million PLN, and in 11 communes the costs are within the range of 3-5 million PLN. Comprehensive solution of the problem of acidification of soils requires the development of liming schedules for the communes and for the individual farms, covering a period of 6-8 years. When calculating the doses and forms of calcium fertilisers it is necessary to take into account the reaction and the agronomical category of the soils, and their level of available magnesium. Optimisation of the reaction of the soils of the province of Silesia will largely improve their productivity and significantly reduce the migration of the basic nutrients and heavy metals to the ground and surface waters.