Summary: Pneumonologists around the world are struggling with a new disease ‒ COVID-19 pneumonia. The disease is distinct from bacterial pneumonia and other viral pneumonias. Its features include a more frequent severe course, often complicated by respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), prolonged convalescence with persistent pulmonary infiltrates and resting or exertional hypoxemia up to several months after the acute period of inflammation, the relative-ly frequent occurrence of a late complication in the form of interstitial lung fibrosis, as well as the frequent occurrence of thromboembolic complications. Such differences also include the lack of effective causal treatment so far. While COVID-19 pneumonia has already changed the face of modern pneumonology, pulmonary fibrosis may become a new disease in the near future, and the search for effective treatment may take up to several years. The paper describes the evolution of inflammatory lesions leading to fibrosis, its likely pathogenesis, and considers current and future treatment options.