The activities of Polish scientific institutions and companies in the field of creation and modernization of reference networks in our country are presented in this paper. Applications of the GPS technique and precise gravity-meters resulted in a complete change of the reference networks features, in comparison with those established with classical methods. Thanks to free access to the most modern measurement techniques, a very wide range of geodetic works was performed in Poland, in the period of 1991-1994. Those resulted in: establishment of the zero-order reference network EUREF-POL which is a part of the European EUREF network, establishment of the national integrated primary network POLREF, establishment of the national geodynamic network, establishment of the first-order geodetic network for military purposes, initiation of works directed toward modernization of the national primary gravity network, a considerable advancement in measuring the precise levelling network of second order. The accuracy characteristics of the new networks are given in the paper. Some possibilities of their applications to scientific as well as to practical purposes, are also considered.