During the past decade, we have witnessed exponential advances and applications of laparoscopy in all fields of surgical practice. Perhaps in no other surgical subspecialty have these advances been more prevalent than in urology. Previous surgical procedures recognized as the “gold standards” of practice are being replaced by procedures that promise equivalent success rates with the added benefits of reduced postoperative pain, hospital stay, and return to full activity. As instrumentation and the skill of minimally invasive surgeons have improved, the limits of laparoscopy have continued to expand. The list of procedures that are now performed laparoscopically spans the entire realm of urology, including diagnostics, cancer staging, extirpation, and reconstruction. This article focuses on surgeries that are part of accepted treatment practice in the year 2000. Transperitoneal and extraperitoneal (or retroperitoneal) approaches have been described for all of these procedures. This article primarily discusses transperitoneal techniques but provides references, when appropriate, for alternative approaches.