Gallstones represent a major health problem in western society. For symptomatic gallstones, cholecystectomy is the gold standard. A considerable number of patients, however, cannot tolerate or are unwilling to undergo surgery and anaesthesia. For these patients, dissolution therapy, administered either systemically ('oral dissolution') or directly into the gallbladder ('contact dissolution'), might be preferable. In this review, the possibilities and limitations of dissolution therapy are discussed. It is concluded that dissolution is a good alternative in selected symptomatic patients and that it is useful as adjuvant therapy after lithotripsy (ESWL) of gall-bladder stones.