Laparoscopy has been shown to be a safe and effective method to establish or rule out a diagnosis in difficult clinical situations and, in selected cases, provide minimally invasive access for therapeutic procedures. Relevant indications for diagnostic laparoscopy in the pediatric population include evaluation of a contralateral patent processus vaginalis in a child with a known unilateral inguinal hernia, an impalpable testis, acute and chronic abdominal pain, staging in cancer, and evaluation of traumatic injuries. Selected articles concerning these and other uses of diagnostic laparoscopy published between December 1996 and November 1997 are the subject of this review.