  Hard X-ray surveys are an important tool for the study of active galactic
nuclei (AGN): they provide almost an unbiased view of absorption in the
extragalactic population, allow the study of spectral features such as
reflection and high energy cut-off which would otherwise be unexplored and
favour the discovery of some blazars at high redshift. Here, we present the
absorption properties of a large sample of INTEGRAL detected AGN, including an
update on the fraction of Compton thick objects. For a sub-sample of 87
sources, which represent a complete set of bright AGN, we will discuss the hard
X-ray (20-100 keV) spectral properties, also in conjunction with Swift/BAT 58
month data, providing information on BAT/IBIS cross-calibration constant,
average spectral shape and spectral complexity. For this complete sample, we
will also present broad-band data using soft X-ray observations, in order to
explore the complexity of AGN spectra both at low and high energies and to
highlight the variety of shapes. Future prospects for AGN studies with INTEGRAL
will also be outlined.

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena