The paper is aiming to provide a comprehensive outlook of the Romanian urban network from the beginning of the second half of the 20th century onwards, still emphasizing the recent urban developments.The study briefly reviews the long-term evolution of the geographical distribution of towns by demographic size. Major shifts in urban dynamics have occurred after 1990 due to deep on-going social and economic changes. Comparative advantages of urban areas have dramatically declined halting the half a century-long rural to urban transfer of population. Recent urban developments have slightly changed the concentration pattern of the urban population and the size and shape of urban polarization areas, but have determined profound changes of intra-urban relations. Dramatic changes occurred in the urban functional types. Finally, the content and the impact of the latest urbanization wave are discussed.