The present invention relates to a dust and
dirt collecting unit for a
vacuum cleaner capable of simultaneously performing a primary cyclonic dust collection and a secondary filter dust collection. According to the present invention, there is provided a dust and
dirt collecting unit for a
vacuum cleaner, which is mounted to one side of a main body of the
vacuum cleaner to filter sucked air containing foreign substances. The dust and
dirt collecting unit of the present invention comprises a dust casing which has an inlet formed in a direction tangential thereto for introducing the air containing the foreign substances thereinto and of which a top portion is open; a cover which is used to open and close the top portion of the dust casing and is provided at the center thereof with an outlet for discharging air from which the foreign substances have been filtered out; a filter
assembly which is installed at a bottom surface of the cover corresponding to the outlet and includes a cylindrical filter of which the interior communicates with the outlet; a protective cylindrical body which is formed to
wrap around an outer periphery of the filter
assembly and installed below the cover so that the interior thereof can communicate with the exterior thereof through a plurality of vent holes formed at a lower portion thereof; and a separating plate which is coupled with the bottom of the filter
assembly and extends radially to be spaced apart from an inner circumferential surface of the dust casing by a predetermined gap.