Since the HIV eradication is an utopian goal the only hope we have is the appropriate follow up of the disease by maintaining the RNA viral load under control and the level of CD4+ sufficient for a minimum of immunocompetence guarantee. The international guideline for the management of HIV infected patients, annually updated, recently confirmed the importance of the GART (guided antiretroviral therapy) based on information derived from drug resistance laboratory tests. A general survey on the antiretroviral drugs, on the mutations involving drug resistance and on the tests for their detection could be interesting also for whom not specifically working on the field.