Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a distinctive neurodegenerative disease that occurs as a result of repetitive head impacts. CTE can only be diagnosed by postmortem neuropathologic examination of brain tissue. CTE is a unique disorder with a pathognomonic lesion that can be reliably distinguished from other neurodegenerative diseases. CTE is associated with violent behaviors, explosivity, loss of control, depression, suicide, memory loss and cognitive changes. There is increasing evidence that CTE affects amateur athletes as well as professional athletes and military veterans. CTE has become a major public health concern.