The article summarizes the main biological features of burrowing and sand wasps. Knowledge of them is of great importance in the development of ways to use useful species, control harmful ones and preserve the overall diversity. The fauna of burrowing and sand wasps in Kazakhstan is rich and diverse. It includes about 800 species. In accordance with modern taxonomy, the burrowing (Sphecidae) and sand (Crabronidae) wasps (which until recently were included in the single family Sphecidae) now belong as independent families to the superfamily Apoidea of the suborder stalk-bellied Hymenoptera. A characteristic feature of the biology of these wasps is the care of the offspring, which consists in the construction of special nests and the preparation of provisions for the larvae in the form of paralyzed or killed insects or spiders. Hunting for these arthropods, wasps perform an important role in nature in regulating their numbers and stabilizing biocenoses.