The concept of social exclusion has replaces in the disckourse of social science an erlier concept of poverty. This shift conveye a notion of poverty that involves not only the problem of income inequalities and of deprivation but also points out barriers to the participation of individuals and social groups affected by poverty in the political, social and cultural life of society. The article refers to the genesis of the content of the term of social exclusion, its current usage and relation to a range of social processes.