The Department possesses almost 160,000 works, mainly paper-based (predominantly the work of Polish artists active in the 19th century). The collection is divided into seven sections: Prints, Drawings, Architectural Plans, Posters, Miniatures, Blocks and Plates, and Photomontage. Prints, the largest section (about 100,000 objects), consists of 14 groups divided up according to criteria based on iconography, historical status or authorship, traditions of assembling collections, and the need to make the works available for research.

In the PRINTS section (almost 100,000 objects) the largest collection (also the largest of its kind in Poland) is Portraits, which numbers around 18,000 graphic works. These are mostly used for academic and publishing research and are arranged according to the people depicted. The oldest objects date from the 16th century, though most are from the 19th century. Particularly noteworthy is the famous collection of Emeryk Hutten-Czapski with its royal portraits and images of other historical figures (mainly Polish) produced by famous engravers, both Polish and foreign.

Equally important for researchers is the Views collection numbering around 8,500 objects, mostly architectural views. These are arranged by city and geographical names and mostly consist of historical images of Polish cities and lands. Of great value are the 17th century European townscapes (e.g. the view of Krakow by Mateusz Merian or the prints produced by Braun and Hogenberg). The cities most often depicted are Krakow, Warsaw, Lwów and Vilnius.

Another large collection is Early Foreign Graphic Art (around 9,000 objects), which are arranged by artist and are dominated by works from the 19th century. Particularly interesting are pieces by such artists as Francesco Bartolozzi, Stefano della Bella, Jacques Callot, Daniel Chodowiecki, Francisco Goya and Adrian van Ostade.

A particularly impressive collection is Early Polish Graphic Art (over 2,700 objects), which includes large print collections, for example those of Jeremiasz Falck, Kajetan Wincenty Kielisiński, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Jan Piotr Norblin, Antoni Oleszczyński, Aleksander Orłowski or Michał Płoński.