A b s t r a c t. The aim of the paper was to characterise and present cartographically water deficits of crop plants grown on different soils in Poland. The calculation of water deficits was carried out for 40 meteorological stations of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management and the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences using meteorological data from the growing seasons 1970-2004 for most crops grown in Poland. Estimations were made for soils suitable for growing the selected crop plants. Water deficits were determined for a probability of exceedance of 20 and 50%. They served to create a relative database. Maps of water deficit were generated for each crop and for two probabilities. The estimated share of soil area suitable for growing the particular crops was calculated for water deficits greater than 40 mm. Water deficits of a given crop on soils suitable for growing at probabilities of their occurrence once in 5 years are also presented in the paper.