Evaluation of the chromatic sense has a great value in ophthalmic practice, both for diagnosis of the congenital defects (daltonism), as well as for diagnosis and follow-up of acquired defects. Many clinical tests are available to be used for this purpose. However it is necessary to know the details and sensitivity of each test, since there are many variations in the results, depending on the searched condition, if congenital or acquired pathologies. Our goal is to review the types of defects of the chromatic sense and provide information about the main current available tests and their best purpose. We further emphasize the importance of standard illumination procedure in the application of the tests.