The article considers linguistic and extralinguistic reasons of Maori borrowings in New Zealand English. One of the most important impacts on the New Zealand English vocabulary has been contact with the Maori language and culture. It is worth noting that Maori words were borrowed for aspects of Maori society and cultural practices, place names, flora and fauna. It needs to be noted that recent decades have been characterized by numerous borrowings from the Maori language in connection with the socio-economic transformations in New Zealand, aimed at reviving the Maori language and culture. The culmination of the entire history of borrowing from the Maori language is considered to be 1987, when the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand was legislated as an official language. The paper explores the presence of Maori borrowings as an important feature of the national and cultural identity of New Zealand.