The bottom sediments excavated from rivers and water bodies are commonly treated as waste and stored on waste dumps or open ocean disposal sites. However the fine-grained bottom sediments containing substantial amounts of organic matter and macro- and microelements, characterised by neutral or alkaline reaction  can have a positive effect on the soil properties. The study objective was the assessment of the effect of application of bottom sediments of various origins on physical and chemical properties of acidic sandy soil. The pot experiment with increasing amounts corresponding with 1%, 5%, 10%, and 20% m/m of three different bottom sediments: (i) sediment from a large lowland river – Vistula, (ii) sediment from vicinity of a dam on a small lowland river Łupia and (iii) sediment from a fishpond was conducted on soil of Haplic Luvisol type. The plant grown in the experiment was white mustard. After harvesting the plants, the basic soil physicochemical properties were determined. The study shows that bottom sediments can be used in agriculture for the improvement of soil quality, although their effect on the soil depends on their origin and physico-chemical properties.All the analysed bottom sediments increased soil pH, and decreased the hydrolytic acidity and content of exchangeable aluminium in the soil. They also improved the sorption properties of the soil. The effect of the analysed sediments on remaining soil properties depended on their origin. Only sediment from the pond had a universally positive effect on sandy soil causing an increase in the loam and silt fraction, water holding capacity, concentration available P, K, and Mg, as well as Corg, Ntot, and Stot in the soil. The bottom sediment from Vistula is characterised by low usefulness in terms of agricultural application for the improvement of the properties of sandy soils, and should be managed in another way, e.g. in non-agricultural land reclamation or in construction.