The article discusses the most representative theories and views regarding collective memory and its relations with literature. As literary studies have not yet developed appropriate research methods and the relevant academic reflection refers to the terminology and the system of notions developed by related sciences, the author starts her discussion from presenting classical theories by Maurice Halbwachs, Jacques Le Goff, Hayden White and Paul Ricoeur. In this perspective it is easy to notice that literature may be perceived as a medium of memory or a means of its formation. The second part of the text is devoted to the relations between literature and memory as seen by Ansgar Nünning and Astrid Erll, who distinguished three basic categories: memory of literature, memory in literature and literature as a medium of memory. The reflection on their findings allows to treat literature as an integral part of memory culture.