Accurate assessment of quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer is essential in order to inform clinical decisions by providing insights into patients' experiences of the disease and treatment. This review summarizes the clinical evidence of how treatments for colorectal cancer impact on short- and long-term quality of life. Surgery for colorectal cancer has a short-term detrimental impact on most aspects of quality of life. Chemotherapy in palliative settings often preserves quality of life. Some studies do not demonstrate changes in keeping with clinical expectations. This may be due to insensitive quality of life tools, low numbers of patients, insufficient compliance or patients' adaptation to changes. An international consensus involving clinicians and methodologists is needed to describe robust standards for quality of life measurement in oncology.