Summary:

River valleys are characterized by ones of the greatest natural advantages, realized a lot of significant functions in local natural systems. Due to large amo-unts of action taken in river valleys by the man, tied with developing them, mainly for the purposes of the flood control, economic, tourist, a lot from these areas it underwent significant transformations. Their basic functions in the natural system were disturbed. The purpose of the paper is determining the state and functioning of the Oder river valley in Opole province as the ecological corridor There were analysed an internal ecological structure of the Oder river valley in Opole province, understood as the arrangement of areas mutually tied together at a junction points (of biocentres) and of ecocological sequences (of corridors). Also basic barriers limiting functioning of the environmental spatial system of the Oder river valley as well as lowering the functionality of ecological corridor were identified. An effect of conducted studies is a model of connections and ecological relations of Oder river valley and a diagnosis of the existing currently state of the corridor of the Oder river valley in the Opole province.