The core of this article is to study the impact of the last world economic crisis and world foreign direct investment fluctuations in the same period. The empirical study was based on data published by UNCTAD in annual reports, called World Investment Report. The research concerning the Polish economy was based on data of Polish National Bank. For measuring the relation between studied phenomena, the analysis of correlation was used, as well as the structure rate and the rate of growth. For the evolution of GDP fluctuations in Poland in the years 1990-2012, both the method of statistical analysis and the descriptive method were used. In the latest World Investment Report (WIR 2012) one can find the current world financial crisis involved in the drop of foreign direct investment flows. That was characteristic for the Polish economy, too. The main reasons for that are the descending investment capability of corporations, because of poorer profits level and higher costs of bank credits. The important argument for corporation investment slump is that the prospects of world economic growth are unfavourable.