The linkage between the economic growth and the dynamics of energy demand is important for a retrospective analysis of the global economy, as well as for a long-term forecasting. This work is devoted to the consideration of patterns and directions of this linkage, with due account for heterogeneity of economic systems in different regions of the world and for the influence of the global crisis. Despite the active examination of this linkage in literature, its results do not enable to make indisputable and unambiguous conclusions. The authors of this article emphasize that structural shifts in the global economy and new trends in energy efficiency, energy supply and energy prices make it necessary to reassess the linkage between economic growth and energy consumption on a regular basis.