Ultrasound elastography is a method of instrumental diagnosing which allows rapidly and in a non-invasive way estimating the elasticity and histological properties of the tissue. The article presents a description of this method: the physical basis of the method functioning, the methodology of examination, the clinical significance in diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases from the standpoint of evidence-based medicine, the advantages and disadvantages of the method, the factors which may distort the result, and the prospects of its use in clinical medicine. The possibility to use elastometry as a screening method and its economic significance are considered. In particular, the results of the studies conducted at Republic Clinical Hospital of the Republic of Tatarstan are presented. The average values of liver stiffness were calculated in patients with hepatitis of various etiologies and liver cirrhosis. The correlation was evaluated between the average liver stiffness and the Child-Pugh and FIB 4 indices, laboratory parameters (hemoglobin, total bilirubin, total protein, percentage of Quick’s prothrombin) and the portal vein diameter.