Acute renal failure is a sudden clinical condition caused by loss of renal ability to maintain homeostasis. Despite significant advances in renal replacement therapy--the mortality rate in ARF patients is still very high--ranging from 20% to 50%. Differential diagnostics, especially between acute prerenal and intrinsic acute renal failure is an extremly important stage in patient evaluation process. In the article--the authors present a short and concise profile of novel, more and less promising for future diagnostic ARF biomarkers: neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL), sodium/hydrogen exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3), human kidney injury molecule-1 (hKIM-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), interleukin 18 (IL-18), urinary cysteine-rich protein (Cyr 61), urinary glutathione-S-transferase (GST), cystatin C, spermidine/spermine N-acetyl transferase (SSAT) and actin) which are recently either in the animal model research stage or during preliminary clinical studies. Extension of research and wideninig of knowledge about the discussed novel, early markers of ARF--would permit for quicker introduction of specifically guided therapy and might improve the prognosis of ARF patients in the near future.