Endometriosis is a genetic disorder of polygenic/multifactorial inheritance. The disorder has long been recognized as showing heritable tendencies, with recurrence risks of 5-7% for first-degree relatives. The task is to determine the number and location of causative. Previously only a hypothetical goal, molecular advances of the past decade make identification and elucidation of these genes a reality. In this review shall outline genome-wide strategies for identifying causative genes and survey potential candidate genes. This communication inevitably updates and reflects our previous contribution on the topic.