The new Polish science curriculum was launched in the 2008 and currently is being implemented in upper secondary schools. The new general objectives of education, and students’ key competences that should be developed during science classes were defined in that document. Presented competences are in line with competences that might be developed by Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE). IBSE is currently a popular instructional method in many countries and it is being strongly promoted by European Union. In the article the role of IBSE in the new Polish science curriculum is described and related to the method of ‘Independent Investigation to Acquire Knowledge’ that was formerly known in the national pedagogy. The article also presents results of a survey questionnaire that was conducted among Polish science teachers. The aim of the study was to measure the attitude of Polish teachers, pupils and society to IBSE. Based on the results the current position and degree of implementation of IBSE in Polish schools was estimated. Additionally the positive and negative factors affecting the implementation of IBSE were presented