The use of Doppler ultrasound in rheumatology has grown in recent years. This is partly due to the increasing number of rheumatologists who perform US in their daily clinical practise and also to the technological advances of US systems. Both colour Doppler and power Doppler are used to evaluate the degree of intra- and peri-articular soft tissue inflammation. Moreover, Doppler US has been found to be of help in the assessment of vascular pathologies such as the vasculitides. In this review we provide an update of the data regarding the use of colour Doppler and power Doppler in rheumatology.