Literature data and results of our own studies into an effect of micro- and macro-gravity on an external respiration function of man are presented. It is found that in cosmonauts following the 7–366 day space missions there is an enhanced tendency associated with an increased flight duration toward a decrease in the lung volume and breathing mechanics parameters: forced vital capacity of the lungs (FVC) by 5–25 percent, peak inspiratory and expiratory (air) flows (PIF, PEF) by 5–40 percent. A decrease in FVC appears to be explained by a new balance of elastic forces of the lungs, chest and abdomen occuring in microgravity as well as by an increased blood filling and pulmonary hydration. A decline of PIF and PEF is probalbly resulted from antigravitational deconditioning of the respiratory muscles with which a postflight decreased physical performance can in part be associated. The ventilation/perfusion ratios during orthostasis and +G Z and +G X accelerations are estimated. The biophysical nature of developing the absorption atelectases on a combined exposure to accelerations and 100% oxygen breathing is confirmed. A hypothesis that hypervolemia and pulmonary congestion can increase the tendency toward the development of atelectases in space in particular during pure oxygen breathing is suggested. Respiratory physiology problem area which is of interest for space medicine is defined. It is well known that due to present-day technologic progress and accomplishments in applied physiology including applied respiration physiology there currently exist sophisticated technical facilities in operation maintaining the life and professional working capacity of a man in various natural environments: on Earth, under water and in space. By the way, the biomedical involvement in developing and constructing such facilities has enabled an accumulation of a great body of information from experimental studies and full-scale trails to examine the effects of the changed environments both and its individual systems including an external respiration function. In this case, it should be remembered that the external respiration system has some physiological and morphological properties due to which the body systems are particularly subjected to environmental effects. Thus, according to figurative comparison by Evald Veible a contact area of the lungs with an external environment i.e. an alveolar surface is large and equaled approximately to tennis-court size, as the alveolocapillary membrane thickness is negligible and amounts to one fiftieth of a writing-paper sheet [1]. From this it follows that such a fine and highly organized structure must be extremely dependent upon any external exposures including gravitational ones since from the physical viewpoint of physics the lungs represent a quasiconical three-dimensional elastic body suspended in the thoracic cavity and in which there occur the gravity-induced internal tensions incrementing in a base-to-apices direction. As a result of these tensions, in the lungs various physical gradients: hydrostatic, pleural and transpulmonary pressures, pulmonary time constant, vertical gradient of the volume and structure of alveoli, etc. are developed.