The elongation complex, which involves RNA polymerase, a DNA template, and nascent RNA, is a central intermediate in the transcription cycle. It is the elongation complex that represents the main target for different regulatory factors. Ample structural and biochemical data were obtained in the past several years to shed light upon the molecular details of the RNA polymerase function. Cooperation between the RNA polymerase elongation complex and the translating ribosome was established recently. The review discusses the mechanisms regulating bacterial transcription elongation.