The chronological development of procedures for determining the cholesterol concentration of in plasma, serum, and whole blood is presented in the review. It is stated that, since the correlation between the risk of development of cardiovascular diseases and the concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in human blood was established by numerous medical studies, procedures for the measurement of these parameters have been developed most actively. A brief overview of these procedures and the results of their comparative testing in patient medical examinations are given. Classifications are proposed for procedures for determining total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. The mechanism of action of the chemical reactions taking place in these procedures, advantages and disadvantages, and priorities for their application are considered. Promising directions for the development and improvement of procedures to ensure more accurate measurements of the blood cholesterol concentration, are mentioned, and alternative means of determining the risk of cardiovascular disease are discussed.