Pancreatic ductal carcinoma is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. The only hope for prolonged survival still remains surgery with complete R0 resection even if most patients will promptly develop metastases and/or local relapses. Due to the silent nature of the disease, fewer than 20% of patients are eligible for a curative-intent resection. As no gain in survival is expected in case of residual tumor, imaging plays a major role for diagnosis and staging to select patients who will undergo surgery. Multidetector-row computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are the key stones and radiologists must be aware of imaging protocols, standardized terms and critical points for structured reporting to assess the tumor staging, minimize potential the morbidity associated with surgery and offer patients the best therapeutic strategy.