A review of the literature concerning changes in sensory perception in the elderly and their nutritional importance has been made. Age-related changes in chemoperception affect significantly food choice and intake and subsequent physiological processes. They are manifested in decreased sensitivity, impaired ability to recognize olfactory and gustatory stimuli, and a shift in their most satisfactory intensity. The magnitude of the above age-related changes is specific for the quality of various taste and odour stimuli, with great individual variability. For lack of methodological standardisation of experimental studies in this area, it is difficult to quantify the observed phenomena.