Abstract The shift of the resonant frequency of microwave cavities excited in TM0m0 (m=1, 2, 3), TMl10 (l=1, 2), TE01n (n>0 integer) modes under the influence of a plasma is calculated for arbitrary radii of plasma and cavity for Bessel profile and common parabolic profiles.In measuring the frequency shift for two of the cited cavity mode types an approximate electron density profile can be determined from the submitted diagrams.