The objective of the present work is to provide an overview of the general circulation features in the Black Sea basin. In order to achieve this, 18 years (1993-2010) of satellite data coming from the Aviso website were analyzed. A description of the general circulation patterns in the Black Sea is first presented. This is followed by statistical analyses of the satellite data in 20 points covering the entire area of the sea. The reference points were chosen as follows: 12 points along the Rim cyclonic current, 3 points inside the Rim cyclonic current, 4 points on the edge of two of the biggest anticyclonic gyres outside the Rim current and one point in the northwestern shelf area of the basin. Rose graphics were drawn for the reference points for winter and summer time. Finally, 9 years of in situ data obtained from the Gloria drilling platform were analyzed and compared with the satellite data. The present study shows that most of the reference points are sensitive to seasonal changes. The current velocities depend mostly on the points location: the points located on the Rim current and on the nearshore anticyclonic eddies present higher values than the ones located in or outside the general circulation features.