Colorectal cancer screening is an important mission for a practicing gastroenterologist. Several different screening modalities are available: fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, barium enema, and more recently, CT-colonography and stool DNA tests. The physician is charged with weighing the pros and cons of the different screening methods and selecting the most appropriate method for each patient. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.