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Telephone surveys come to be more widely used in the 1970s, paralleling increase in application of computer techniques in the survey research. In the second half of the 1980s telephone surveys started to replace traditional face-to-face interviews. In this paper I overview basis of organization of telephone surveys. lts core resides in assistance of computer programs. They include, among others, modules of: questionnaire's edition, automatic selection of the phone number of respondents, control of the way of interviewing and running a session as well as final organization of data. Telephone surveys are based on some specific methods of sampling designs as adjusted to requirements of this technique. In comparison to traditional face-to-face interview, they offer much more possibility as regards control of interviewers - they are required some other skills and qualifications. In view of these differences, the quality of data collected in face-to-face interviews and telephone surveys differs as well. In conclusion, I attempt to draw some prospects of development of the telephone survey technique in Poland.