The foreign direct investments play an active role in transforming the Central and East European economies aiming at the construction of the knowledge-based society, by the development of some research-development activities with innovating character.

Generally, it has been noticed a more powerful impact either in the countries that have received massive foreign direct investments, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia, or in countries in which the quality of the attracted foreign capital has completed, at a certain moment, their quantity (as for example Slovenia).

In this paper we are going to approach the relation between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and knowledge society building in an explicit manner, analysing the empirical data for the Central and Estearn European (CEE) countries, new members of European Union.

foreign direct investments, knowledge-based society, innovation activities, research, development