The diagnostic process, differential diagnosis and continuing routine follow-up of patients with focal liver lesions require an easily available, reliable and cost-effective diagnostic method. Ultrasound is a widely used method for the detection of liver lesions, but it has generally been regarded as inferior to contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recent advances in contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) have improved the detection rate to a level similar to that attained with CT and MRI. Because of the high spatial resolution of ultrasound, CEUS can also detect metastases smaller than 1 cm. This has been demonstrated in several single-centre studies and recently also a European multi-centre study. This review focuses on the recent advances of CEUS in detecting and characterizing focal liver lesions.