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Background Spinal pain is a serious health and social-economic problem. Endoscopic spine surgery as a treatment option for spinal pain has gained tremendous attention and growth in the past 2 decades, and a variety of endoscopic techniques have been invented to treat a wide range of spinal conditions. Purposes The purposes of this 2-part review article are to 1 ) overview the published techniques of endoscopic spine surgery, 2 ) summarize the applications of these techniques in treating various spinal conditions, and 3 ) evaluate the clinical evidence of the safety and effectiveness of these endoscopic techniques in treating some of the most common spinal conditions. The first part of the review article provides an overview of currently most commonly used techniques. Methods We searched the PubMed database for publications concerning endoscopic spine surgery and reviewed the relevant articles published in the English language. Results Discectomy and foraminotomy are the most common types of spine surgery that can currently be done endoscopically. Endoscopic techniques have been used to treat a wide range of spinal disorders located in the lumbar, cervical, as well as the thoracic regions of the spine.