[en] The competence of laboratories is assessed by two complementary techniques. One of the techniques is the on-site evaluation following the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005. The other one implies the proficiency testing which involves the determination of laboratory performance by means of interlaboratory comparisons, whereby the laboratory performs practical tests and their results are further compared with those of other laboratories. The paper treats one of the most important topics of the proficiency testing – the interlaboratory comparison (ILC). There will be presented the need, the purpose and the main objectives of an ILC and also a typically situation where an interlaboratory comparison exercise (for radio-analytical methods) was planned. A fully description of the design and operation of an ILC scheme is the main purpose of this paper. A special attention will be given to the data analysis and evaluation of interlaboratory comparison scheme results. (authors)