A decade after its first introduction, the advantages and drawbacks of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis remain controversial. This present paper is a review of the literature, focused on the indications of this dialysis modality in different circumstances: extra-renal pathology, systemic diseases (lupus erythematosus--diffuse scleroderma--plasma cell disorders--amyloidosis--HIV infected patients) and complications related to hemodialysis.