The article deals with the phenomenon of the entertainment. Entertainment is perceived as one of the effective forms of communication stimulating the socialization of the individual in the society. There are presented the definitions of that phenomenon given by the representatives of different sciences (psychologists, sociologists, and researchers of culture). The variety, the difficulties of its classification and possibilities are also discussed in the article. There are analysed its kinds and peculiarities and disclosed the main social functions (recreational, cognitive, educational, communicational, representative), its role in life of individual and society.