Chronic lymphocytic leukemia continues to attract much basic and clinical research interest. Despite recent advances, the disease still has no established cure. Nonetheless, significant strides have been made in our understanding of the genetics, biology, and clinical staging of this disease. This understanding may improve our ability to segregate patients into subtypes that differ in their cytogenesis, propensity toward disease progression, or response to standard or innovative forms of therapy. Finally, several promising new modalities of treatment are being evaluated in clinical trials, involving novel drugs or drug-combinations, monoclonal antibodies, stem cell transplantation, or gene therapy.