The influence of shading on the growth of bearberry (A. uva-ursi) and the arbutin content in the leaves was examined. The experimental materials were clones, prepared by propagation of 5 plants from Tucholskie Forests by cuttings. One half of plants in the experiment were growing in the conditions of normal illumination, while the second half under a shading net diminishing the illumination to 50%. The shaded plants looked well and no dying out was noticed. The shading diminished neither the total mass of plants nor the mass of dry leaves. The sum of shoot length was greater but the number of shoots decreased. The leaf-blade area increased. The ratio of length to width of leaf-blade decreased significantly. However, the existence of a simple relationship between the shape of leaves and the arbutin content was not confirmed. The changes of arbutin content due to shading were different in the plants growing originally on the semi-shaded natural stands comparing to those growing originally on the completely illuminated stands.