There are numerous papers on various aspects of avian haemosporidioses. However, there is no comprehensive overview of the species and lineages of haemosporidian parasites which have been identified in European host and vector species. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate * avian haemosporidian parasite distribution in birds and vector hosts in Europe, * which bird species are mostly investigated for haemosporidian infections, * which are the most frequently investigated study sites, * which examination methods were used and how significant the results are, * how many mixed infections were found with which method and * to investigate the range of infection on the study sites.