[en] During the international expedition of the research vessel Prof. Vodyanitskiy on the Black Sea, in December 1999, samples of sea water and sediment were collected and analyzed for elemental content and radioactivity. The cruise covered the mouths of the Dniester and Danube River, the Crimean coastal waters and the offshore area. The sediment, collected by an EPA Box corer was separated in layers. Sediment samples were analyzed by gamma spectroscopy for the artificial occurring radionuclide Cs-137. The concentration of some major, minor and trace elements was determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. For the water samples, Cs-137 concentration varied between (26.3 ± 3.4) mBq/l and (41.2 ± 5.6) mBq/l for the surface water; a value of (9.9 ± 1.8) mBq/l was found for a deep water sample collected far offshore. The concentration of Sr-90 did not vary significantly from a station to another and was around 11 mBq/l. The concentration of tritium was low (between 24 and 7 T.U.), in the range reported in the recent literature. For all the sampling locations the maximum of the ¹³⁷ Cs specific activity in sediment samples was found in the surface layer. In the samples collected from the stations 3 and 4, close to the mouths of Danube and Dniester Rivers, higher values up to (128 ± 6) Bq/kg were found. A similar elemental composition of sediment samples in the locations mentioned above was found. Cr and Ni were detected only in the sediment sample collected near the Crimean shore, and are probably correlated to the industrial discharges. (authors)