The objective of this review was to summarize the current literature of community-based colorectal cancer screening randomized controlled trials with multi-ethnic groups. The CDC reports 40% of adults do not receive time-appropriate colorectal cancer screening. Although overall screening rates have improved since 2000, disparities remain. Studies examining community characteristics may offer insight into improving screening rates and eliminating disparities. We identified community-based colorectal cancer screening studies using PubMed and Ovid Medline database searches. Inclusion criteria were: community-based, randomized controlled trials; English language; published from 1/2001 to 8/2009; all colorectal cancer screening test interventions recommended in the 2008 "Joint Consensus" report; and study participants from at least two racial/ethnic groups, with not more than 90% representation from one group. There were 29 relevant articles published during 2001-2009; with 15 meeting inclusion criteria. We categorized the final studies (n = 15) into the four categories of Patient mailings (n = 3), Telephone outreach (n = 3), Electronic/multimedia (n = 4), and Counseling/community education (n = 5). Of 15 studies, 11 (73%) demonstrated increased screening rates for the intervention group compared to controls, including all studies (100%) from the Patient mailings and Telephone outreach groups, 4 of 5 (80%) Counseling/community education studies, and 1 of 4 (25%) Electronic/multimedia interventions. Patient choice and tailoring of information were common features of trials that increased screening rates across study categories. Including community-level factors and social context may be useful in future design and evaluation of colorectal cancer interventions to reduce or prevent new cases of colorectal cancer.