Peptide imaging is a new diagnostic modality in nuclear medicine. 111In-pentetreotide (OctreoscanR) is the first commercially available peptide radiopharmaceutical. This review article presents the results of previous studies using 111In-pentetreotide for several disease states, including neuroendocrine tumors, breast cancer and malignant lymphoma. The use of hand-held probe during surgery and the preliminary results of radiotherapy using radiolabeled somatostatin analogues are also reviewed. It can be concluded that somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is a promising diagnostic tool for localizing primary tumors that express receptors for somatostatin, staging secondary spread of tumor tissue, following up after therapy and identifying patients who may benefit from therapy with unlabelled or rediolabeled octreotide. The somatostatin receptor imaging will stimulate the development of new radiopharmaceuticals for other receptors and enhance the therapeutic use of radiolabeled peptides.