Between 2003 and 2006, almost 80 localities in all main hydrological systems in Albania were sampled and data on the distribution of loach fishes gathered. The spined loach Cobitis ohridana Karaman, 1928 was found to be a common species in Albania, occurring in most of its river systems, from the Ohrid-Drin-Shkodra system in the east and north to the River Vjosë basin in the south. Cobitis meridionalis Karaman, 1924 occurs in Lake Prespa, while a spined loach with mtDNA of Cobitis sensu stricto origin is present at least in the Ohrid-Drin-Shkodra system. The most common stone loach in Albania was found to be Oxynoemacheilus pindus (Economidis, 2005). It was caught in the basins of the rivers Vjosë, Seman, Shkumbin and Erzen. Barbatula sturanyi (Steindachner, 1892) was recorded in the River Black Drin.