The scientific literature in English for 2000–2017, devoted to the problem of the development of sorbents based on polymeric materials, intended for collecting spilled oil and oil products from the surface of reservoirs, has been scanned and analyzed. Three most numerous classes of polymeric sorbent materials (cellulosic materials, acrylate copolymers and synthetic rubbers) have been identified, and the oil sorbents proposed are characterized. Prospects of using sorbents of these classes for cleaning up the surface of reservoirs from oil spills are discussed.
