Technical improvements in liver resection therapy have forced optimism towards an extended indication for treatment. Operative mortality has improved, and a median survival time of 30 months, and 5 year survival rates of about 30% are reported. Perioperative course of CEA, time of onset of liver metastases, intrahepatic distribution and extrahepatic disease are factors of prognostic relevance. However, the intensity of follow-up, statistical artefacts and the time period reported on, severely influence survival curves. Additional therapeutic efforts are necessary to improve the number of patients that may benefit from surgical therapy of colorectal liver metastases.