In 1970s enterovirus type 71 (EV71) caused several epidemics of poliomyelitis-like disease with severe neurologic sequelae. In the last 20 years EV71 was the cause of series of outbreaks and epidemics of foot-and-mouth disease-like conditions with neurologic sequelae in countries of South-East Asia. During the last epidemic of EV71 infection, which occurred in China in 2008, more than 60,000 cases was registered, 38 of which were lethal. Some aspects of epidemiology and laboratory diagnostics of disease caused by EV71 are considered in this review.