  The BeppoSAX observations of the bright Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564
are presented along with a high quality optical spectrum taken at the 1.5m
telescope at La Silla. The 0.1-10 keV X-ray spectrum is characterized by a
strong soft component which is best described by blackbody-like emission with a
temperature of about 160 eV. At higher energies a steep (Gamma = 2.4) power-law
tail is present. There is evidence of an ionized reflector in the form of an
iron line and edge. We do not find significant evidence of soft X-ray features
if the spectrum is modelled with a two component continuum. The optical and
X-ray spectral properties support the hypothesis of a high accretion rate onto
a low mass black hole.
