Particulate phosphorus (PP) was investigated in the water column of the central Adriatic at 34 stations, of which 7 stations were located in coastal and 4 in the open sea area (vertical distribution), 4 stations at shellfish and fish farms (vertical distribution) and at 19 stations in the estuaries of Krka, Cetina and Jadro rivers (surface layer). At all stations concentrations of dissolved inorganic (DIP) and total phosphorus (TP) were also determined. Hydrographic parameters, concentrations of nitrogen and silicon nutrient salts and chlorophyll a were also recorded at 11 coastal and open sea stations. In seawater samples from the area of central Adriatic, two laboratory experiments were conducted in which concentrations of particulate and total phosphorus were measured over period of 9 days. PP concentrations in the coastal and open sea areas were in range from 0,007 μmol dm-3 (open sea near Palagruža Island) to 0,589 μmol dm-3 (Šibenik Bay). In the coastal area higher PP concentrations were recorded in the surface layer during spring, autumn and winter and in the bottom layer during summer.. PP concentrations in the coastal area were higher than the concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus, while lower in the open sea area. Statistical analysis of the results determined significant positive correlation of PP with chlorophyll a and nutrient salts of nitrogen and silicon and negative correlation with salinity. On the shellfish farms, the lowest PP concentrations were measured at the depth of the breeding shellfish. In the fish farm area, the highest concentration of PP was recorded in the layer of water column where organisms are grown. Concentrations of PP in the surface layer along estuaries of Krka, Cetina and Jadro indicate the non-conservative behavior of PP in relation to salinity. In Cetina and Jadro there was a positive deviation from the theoretical distribution of PP along the entire estuary. In the upper part of the Krka estuary there was a positive deviation and in the lower part negative deviation was recorded. Dissolved inorganic phosphorus was the most common form of phosphorus in the samples of the surface layer in all investigated estuaries.