Interstitial community respiration in a Baltic sandy beach on the Gulf of Gda?sk was investigated in terms of sediment oxygen consumption over a seasonal cycle. The study was carried out at four locations on the beach slope (littoral, waterline, splashzone and middle beach). Oxygen uptake changes over time were not statistically significant and no correlation was found between sediment respiration and water temperature. It seems that food supply to the sandy beach system is the predominant factor determining the interstitial community metabolism. The lowest values of oxygen consumption (9-33 cm3 O2 m-2 h-1) were noted in the middle beach station; the highest results (up to 212 cm3 O2 m-2 h-1) were related to the littoral site. Organic matter concentration in the sediment ranged between 0.09 and 0.9% dwt.