The notion of crisis is rather complex and many-sided, that is why it cannot be described by just two or three words, or even definitions, since the definitions, which characterize this notion are not clear and precise. It does not allow to give proper evaluation to the principles of crisis management, and consequently, to apply it in a right way. Therefore, it is possible to state that crisis management is also rather complex phenomenon. The aim of the article is to define the notion of crisis and to characterise it by means of graphic illustration of the process of crisis emergence. The illustration reflects main elements of the process of crisis emergence on an enterprise, since it can be considered one of the main aspects, which are necessary to show the essence of crisis management, to choose methods of analysis and strategies.