This brief will review the methods that are currently available for the detection, isolation, and typing of pathogenic E. coli, with a particular focus on foodborne diseases caused by the Shiga toxigenic E. coli group, which have been implicated in a number of significant outbreaks in recent years. Pathogenic forms of E. coli can cause a variety of diarrheal diseases in hosts due to the presence of specific colonization and virulence factors, as well as pathogenicity-associated genes, which are generally not present in other E. coli. Six pathotypes of pathogenic E. coli are recognized: Shiga toxigenic E. coli, Enteropathogenic E. coli, Enterotoxigenic E. coli, Enteroinvasive E. coli, Enteroaggregative E. coli, and Diffusely Adherent E. coli. Certain strains among these groups are major public health concerns due to the severity of disease that they can cause. Methods to detect and isolate them are essential.