All stages of malaria and amebiasis may be sensitively and specifically diagnosed by means of microbiological methods. Microscopical parasitology holds a key position when supplemented by immunodiagnostic assays. Molecular biology techniques are currently still inferior to the above procedure. Tests for the differentiation between pathogenic and nonpathogenic Entamoeba histolytica (Entamoeba dispar) require further simplification before generally applicable.