Polyurethane foams, thanks to their properties, they find a wide spectrum of uses and they are the part of our everyday life. They are do not dangerous in themselves but dangerous are the toxic products that arising from their burning. The master thesis: "The characteristics of volatile organic compounds formed during the thermal degradation of polymeric materials" provides the theoretical and practical knowledge about the thermal degradation of polyurethane foams, but also of the volatile substances that arise therefrom. The main aim of this work was to analysis volatile products arising from thermal load of different polyurethane foams at temperatures of 40°C, 100°C and 200°C. The analysis was performed by the method of gas chromatography with the mass spectrometry. The main degradation products mainly include: aniline, toluidine, diaminotoluenes, phenolic compounds and phthalates.