Over 400 samples of bottom sediments including cores up to 14–16 m long were obtained during the International Geophysical Year by the Marine Antarctic Expeditions of the USSR. A vast amount of new data were also collected during the IGY by the American and New Zealand researchers. A new map of Antarctic bottom sediments has been compiled on the basis of a new bathymetric map and a great number of bottom samples studied by different methods. Results of analytical determinations are given.