We reviewed the role of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and esophageal ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in the pretherapeutic assessment of patients with proven or suspected lung cancer. EUS-FNA and EBUS-TBNA have been shown to have a good diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. In the future, these techniques in combination with positron emission tomography/computed tomographic may replace surgical staging in patients with suspected and proven lung cancer, but until then surgical staging remains the gold standard for adequate preoperative evaluation.