The Vistula Lagoon is a shallow coastal ecosystem located on the Polish-Russian border in the coastal area of the southern Baltic. It is strongly influenced by inflows of seawater from the Baltic as well as by river inflow from the catchment area. High concentrations of nutrients in the Lagoon cause high primary production rates (ca 190 gC/m2/year) and other processes related to eutrophi-cation. Mathematical modelling of the physical and biogeochemical processes in the Vistula Lagoon has been applied as a tool for environmental assessment. The integrated MIKE 21 two-dimensional modelling system (by the Danish Hydraulic Institute / Water Quality Institute) was applied in the study. The eutrophication model of the Vistula Lagoon describes the nutrient cycle including eutro-phication-related processes. This paper describes the setup and calibration of the eutrophication model and presents the results of the basic calculation reflecting the situation in 1994. The role of the model in the evaluation of the ecological situation and in water management and planning is discussed. The model has been calibrated against monitoring measurements carried out in the Polish and Russian parts of the Vistula Lagoon.