The epidemiology and pathohistogenesis of avascular femoral head necrosis has still not been clarified in detail. Because the course of the disease runs in stages and over a long time period nearly always culminates in the necessity for a total hip prosthesis, an exact radiological evaluation is of paramount importance for the treatment. There is a need for a common staging system to enable comparison of different therapy concepts and especially their long-term results. In this article the ARCO staging system is described in full detail, which includes all radiological modalities as well as histopathological alterations.