Archaea are very complex and thus an extremely interesting group of microorganisms, both in terms of their abilities to colonize different environments, including extreme conditions, as well as due to the specific structure of cellular components. In recent years, a large development of knowledge about those organisms was observed, what results in the appearance of a huge pool of more or less detailed publications. However, Polish literature lacks the reviews wider endearing structure and physiology of those organisms. The present work complements that gap by discussing selected elements of Archaea cells of unique structure or functions, such as the S layer, the cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane and a variety of cellular appendages. In addition, some of the remarkable aspects of the archaebacteria metabolism were brought up.

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