The article provides an analysis of the main types and functions of quotations in a literary text. A quotation acquires the status of a special structural unit: on the one hand, it is integrated into the authorial text as a part of the whole, but, on the other hand, it keeps its relative independence and autonomy, it does not completely dissolve the authorial text. In this connection the article also focuses on the issue of intertextuality, which has traditionally been an area of special interest in linguistic research.