In June 2018, the World Health Organization published the new classification of ICD-11 on its website. The new classification was published five years after the DSM-5, and despite the effort towards harmonization, formal, content and conceptual differences can be found between both of them. According to its authors, ICD-11 is based on public health approach; in the area of addictology it extends the range of classified psychoactive substances and addictive behaviours, introduces new diagnostic units, extends the definition of harmful use and keeps the key diagnosis of dependence. In the current review, we compare addictology issues in the ICD-11 and DSM-5 with focus on psychoactive substances, while only marginally dealing with behavioural addictions.

Key words: ICD-11 – DSM-5 – classification – addictology – psychoactive substances