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Introduction: Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula are believed to create a technical difficulty at ERCP, and cause an increased number of complications following the procedure; however, data on this issue are conflicting. Aim of study: This study was conducted to find any association between common bile duct gallstones formation and the presence of juxtapapillary diverticulum and to assess effectiveness and safety of ERCP in this group of patients. Material and methods: The retrospective study was carried out on a group of 272 patients with biliary stone disease; 68 of them had diverticulum in the Vater's periampullary region. Results: The prevalence of common bile duct gallstones in patients with a juxtapapillary diverticulum was significantly higher as compared to control (65% vs. 49%; p=0.027). Cannulation of Vater's papilla was performed with comparable efficacy in both patient groups. The most common complication of ERCP was asymptomatic transient hyperamylasemia - more frequent among control (16.3% vs. 4.9%; p=0.024). Acute pancreatitis was the least common complication (1.5% vs. 3%; p=0.602). In the study and control group, clinically important bleeding after sphincterotomy was uncommon (0.5% vs. 4.4%; p=0.05). Conclusions: Patients with a diverticulum in the Vater's periampullary region develop biliary stone disease more frequently. It seems that neither cannulation efficacy, nor bile duct contrasting or the incidence of complications in the course of ERCP is affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]