All the available data on the distribution of Zostera marina meadows in the coastal waters of Estonia, NE Baltic Sea, were analysed in order to achieve a generic idea of the historical and present status of eelgrass. Altogether 44 localities with eelgrass present were recorded in 1995-2005 as compared to 36 sites recorded in 1959-1984. The percentage of findings in different water basins ranged from 1.3 to 5.1 in 1959-1984 compared to 0.6-3.6 in 1995-2005. This suggests that no significant decline or improvement of the eelgrass meadows has occurred in the Estonian coastal sea. Yet there are signs of a negative impact of eutrophication on eelgrass.