Escherichia coli is recovered from a wide variety of infections in many animals species. It may be a primary or secondary agent. Nursing and young animals are particularly susceptible, and urinary tract infections are frequent. The various serotypes of E coli are intestinal inhabitants of animals including humans and probably infect most mammals and birds : therefore, they have a cosmopolitan distribution. Colibacillosis refers to any totalized or systemic infection caused entirely or partly by E coli. Collibacillosis in mammals is most often a primary enteric disease, whereas collibacillosis in poultry is typically a secondary located or systemic disease occurring when host defenses have been impaired or overwhelmed. Other opportunistic bacteria, which can be identified by culture, may play a similar role to that of I coli in secondary infections. Collectively, infections caused by E coli are responsible for significant economic losses to the animal performance. From the standpoint of pathogenic mechanisms and diseases, four major categories of E coli are recognized : enterotoxigenic(ETEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enteroinvasive(EIEC), and enterohemorrhagic(EHEC). In addition, two less-well-defined E coli categories are recognized in animals and humans : enteroaggregative and cytotoxin necrotizing factor-positive. The aforementioned categories are represented by different serotypes. Certain serotypes show a host preference and are encountered more frequently in some disease syndromes. Of the four major categories, ETEC is the most common cause of diarrhea in calves, lambs, and pigs. Strains in the other categories cause the less-common diarrhea and other disease syndromes. Enterotoxins and pilus antigens are the two most prominent virulence factors thus far identified for ETEC. Two enterotoxins, one heat-stable(ST) and one heat-labile(LT), are produced by enterotoxigenic strains of E coli : not all culture produce both of these plasmid-based enterotoxins.