Abstract. Let G be a finite group and let T (G) be the abelian group of equivalence classes of endotrivial kG-modules, where k is an algebraically closed field of characteristic p. We investigate the torsion-free part T F (G) of the group T (G) and look for generators of T F (G). We describe three methods for obtaining generators. Each of them only gives partial answers to the question but we obtain more precise results in some specific cases. We also conjecture that T F (G) can be generated by modules belonging to the principal block and we prove the conjecture in some cases.