The thyroid and adjacent parathyroid glands demonstrate a variety of benign and malignant pathology, with nodular thyroid disease being the most common pathology encountered in most routine head and neck imaging practice. A variety of thyroid cancers exist, and imaging strategy for staging, surveillance and follow-up depend upon the cancer type. The importance of parathyroid gland imaging in both benign disease, primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT), and the less common parathyroid carcinoma has seen recent advances. An understanding of the available imaging modalities, pathologies and options for imaging thyroid and parathyroid disorders is essential.