Acetic Acid Bacteria (AAB) occur commonly in nature. They participate in fermentation processes of food, where they occur naturally or are purposely added to make a product with desirable properties. They are isolated, inter alia, from plants and plant-produced products, fermented foods and beverages. During the fermentation process those microorganisms produce many compounds; among them are glucuronic and gluconic acids, other organic acids and vitamins. The presented review of scientific literature shows that acetic acid bacteria may have therapeutic, biotechnological and technological applications. In the food industry AABs are highly important as beneficial and the adverse bacteria in many production processes, in the supply chain and during the storage of products. Despite the great potential and wide application possibilities, use of acetic acid bacteria is still limited on a massive scale. In recent years bacteria with pro-health and probiotic properties have attracted great interest, however a given strain must meet certain requirements to be considered probiotic. Acetic acid bacteria do not colonise the large intestine, but they have many pro-health and therapeutic characteristics, which justifies the possibility of classifying them into a group of next-generation probiotics.