Hadron spectroscopy with COMPASS

The COmmon Muon and Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy is a fixed target experiment at the CERN SPS accelerator. In the past two years hadron spectroscopy was brought into focus. A huge amount of data was taken, using hadronic beams at a momentum of 190 GeV$/c$ impinging on hydrogen, lead, nickel and tungsten targets. The primary goal for the hadron programme is the study of resonance production by diractive scattering, central production and photon exchange. To bring clarity in the intriguing question about the existence of exotic states, such as glueballs and hybrids, the analysis of several channels have been started. We present here a selective overview of the current status.