The monetary policy of NBP realized in 1990-2004 has deeply changed. On the one hand the changes were institutional, on the other one – they concerned modifications of the shape of monetary policy, either in its goals and strategies or in its instruments. Among the institutional changes the most significant were the changes of the acts on banking, made in 1989, 1992, 1997 and in 2001. Due to those changes, the realization of the monetary policy in Poland shall be assessed in two characteristic periods, different in qualitative features: 1990-1997 and 1998-2004. At the beginning the monetary policy, meant traditionally, was realized in accordance with the hierarchic structure of goals, so called triad of goals. Later, after coming into force of a new Act on Banking (1997) and appearing of possibility of joining the European Union, the monetary policy started to be realized according to the BCI conception. The paper deals with the critical analysis of the monetary policy realized in existing surrounding in both mentioned periods.