OBJECTIVETo review the common genotyping techniques of Chlamydia trachomatis in terms of their principles, characteristics, applications and limitations.

DATA SOURCESData used in this review were mainly from English literatures of PubMed database. The search terms were "Chlamydia trachomatis" and "genotyping". Meanwhile, data from World Health Organization were also cited.

STUDY SELECTIONOriginal articles and reviews relevant to present review's theme were selected.

RESULTSDifferent genotyping techniques were applied on different occasions according to their characteristics, especially in epidemiological studies worldwide, which pushed the study of Chlamydia trachomatis forward greatly. In addition, summaries of some epidemiological studies by genotyping were also included in this work for reference and comparison.

CONCLUSIONSA clear understanding of common genotyping techniques could be helpful to genotype C. trachomatis more appropriately and effectively. Furthermore, more studies on the association of genotypes of Chlamydia trachomatis with clinical manifestations should be performed.