Gallbladder diseases, particularly gallstones and gallbladder cancer, are common and costly health issues. Ultrasonography is the best method for accurately determining the prevalence of gallstone disease. Risk factors for cholesterol gallstone formation include ethnicity, age, gender, and family history, while modifiable factors include obesity, rapid weight loss, and a sedentary lifestyle. The rising obesity epidemic predicts an increase in cholesterol gallstone frequency. Biliary sludge is associated with pregnancy, certain drugs, and total parenteral nutrition or fasting. Black pigment stones are linked to cirrhosis, chronic hemolysis, and ileal Crohn's disease. Gallstone disease in childhood, previously considered rare, is now recognized with similar risk factors to adults, especially obesity. Gallbladder cancer is uncommon in developed countries, with only about 5,000 cases per year in the U.S., but incidence rates are high in North and South American Indians. Additional risk factors for gallbladder cancer include cholelithiasis, advancing age, chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the gallbladder, congenital biliary abnormalities, and diagnostic confusion over gallbladder polyps.Gallbladder diseases, particularly gallstones and gallbladder cancer, are common and costly health issues. Ultrasonography is the best method for accurately determining the prevalence of gallstone disease. Risk factors for cholesterol gallstone formation include ethnicity, age, gender, and family history, while modifiable factors include obesity, rapid weight loss, and a sedentary lifestyle. The rising obesity epidemic predicts an increase in cholesterol gallstone frequency. Biliary sludge is associated with pregnancy, certain drugs, and total parenteral nutrition or fasting. Black pigment stones are linked to cirrhosis, chronic hemolysis, and ileal Crohn's disease. Gallstone disease in childhood, previously considered rare, is now recognized with similar risk factors to adults, especially obesity. Gallbladder cancer is uncommon in developed countries, with only about 5,000 cases per year in the U.S., but incidence rates are high in North and South American Indians. Additional risk factors for gallbladder cancer include cholelithiasis, advancing age, chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the gallbladder, congenital biliary abnormalities, and diagnostic confusion over gallbladder polyps.