New minimally invasive technologies are currently being applied to the management of renal cell carcinoma in an effort to decrease operative time, pain, morbidity and hospital stay. Foremost among these is the burgeoning role of laparoscopy in tumor destruction and complete in vivo resection. The primary modalities in clinical use today are laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, laparoscopic renal cryoablation and laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation. Most initial reports include only highly selected patients with unifocal, small, exophytic, peripheral lesions away from the collecting system. As experience with these techniques increases, larger and more difficult lesions are being approached laparoscopically, with promising anecdotal results reported. Laparoscopic access to the kidney may be retroperitoneal or transperitoneal. Complete tumor destruction with maximal preservation of unaffected nephrons remains the goal. Herein, an update on laparoscopic surgery for renal cell carcinoma is presented. For each procedure, the current indications and contraindications, perioperative data, complications and oncological outcomes are described. In the future, it appears likely that laparoscopy will play a major role in the established treatment options for renal cell carcinoma, with open surgery being reserved for specific indications.