Since intestinal metaplasia is now included in the definition and is the epithelial type associated with cancer, obtaining biopsies from the columnar lined distal esophagus is mandatory. The sensitivity and the positive predictive value of standard EGD for diagnosing BE has been reported as 82% and 34% respectively. This is secondary to the patchy and mosaic presence of intestinal metaplasia in the columnar distal esophagus. Endoscopic screening is advocated in patients with chronic GERD symptoms for detection of BE with random biopsies being obtained if a columnar appearing distal esophagus is visualized. Once intestinal metaplasia is detected with these random biopsies and the diagnosis of BE is confirmed, patients are subsequently enrolled in a surveillance program. Similarly, the presence of dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma within a segment of BE is patchy and focal and standard endoscopy and random biopsies may fail to detect these lesions. New endoscopic imaging techniques to improve the accuracy of endoscopic diagnosis have recently been developed, and most are currently under evaluation.