. Water plants and coastal riparian plants are an integral part of the habitat forming component of water ecosystems in Saratov region. This article gives a review of long-term research of fl ora in many water reservoirs and water streams of the Saratov region. The analysis of literature in its historical aspect showed that the degree of scientifi c knowledge about water fl ora in the Saratov region is still insuffi cient despite multiple research projects conducted at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries.