Cancer has become a major cause of death in Korea since 1989. Despite the major advances in the treatment of cancer, prevention and early detection is the most effective strategy to decrease the mortality from cancer. The indicence of invasive cervical cancer has declined since the 1950s, and indirect evidence suggests that this decline is the result of the institution of screening with cervical smear. However, cervical cancer continues to be a major health problem in the developing world today, where screening is not universal. Among Korean women, the incidence of cervical cancer is still high and was the 3rd most common cancer following stomach and breast cancer in 2000. If preinvasive conditions would be included, the disease would be the most frequent. The first organized screening programmes were initiated in 1949 at British Columbia, Canada. Since then, cervical cancer screening programmes have been implemented in almost all developed countries. In Korea, opportunistic screening began in the late 1950s, and organized screening began in 1998 by Health Insurance without a consensus meeting. The guidelines for the screening of cervical cancer were developed by National Cancer Center and the Koean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology in May, 2001 ; and the national screening programmes were developed by the Supporting Evaluation Board of National Cancer Screening Program in December, 2001. This article introduces these programmes.