The paper is a survey of the current state and trends in surface studies by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The first part of the survey discusses the capabilities of conventional Mössbauer spectroscopy. Special attention is paid also to the new technique of studying ultrathin surface layers and interfaces introduced by the authors — grazing incidence Mössbauer spectroscopy with energy and time differential modes of resonance spectra measurement. The second part contains new experimental results and shows that the comparative analysis of data obtained in different modes provides more complete information on the physicochemical state of ultrathin surface layers and interfaces.