Undescended testis is one of the most common congenital abnormalities of the genitourinary system. In 10-20% of these boys, a testis is located completely inside the abdominal cavity. Multiple operative techniques have been described and are associated with a variable success rate. In this review we evaluate the use of laparoscopy in the management of the non-palpable testis to determine what advantages it might offer over the open technique. On the basis of current evidence it seems that laparoscopy is the only diagnostic and therapeutic procedure that is accurate enough to elucidate the diagnosis of non-palpable testis and also allows surgical treatment to be carried out in the same setting.