For reasons of psychosocial intervention and pharmacological treatment - if specific drugs become available - early detection of dementia is important. There has been a great deal of research concerning clinical criteria for the early stages of dementia, as wel as on employing cognitive tests. In the Netherlands, the AMSTEL project has been being studying this issue for some years now. This article aims to present a brief overview of the relevant literature on this subject and in particular the contribution of the AMSTEL project. Based on results of AMSTEL, the following topics will be discussed: the significance of memory problems for early detection, the most effective short cognitive test, factors influencing the test scores, the use of procedures to measure premorbid intelligence and the reliability of cognitive screening tests. The significance of a recent biological marker for Alzheimer's disease will also be mentioned. Finally, it is unlikely that it will be possible to develop valid and reliable cognitive tests for the early detection of dementia.