Staging of a malignancy is a critical step in the diagnostic process of a new cancer or newly metastatic cancer. It is imperative that the clinician has an understanding of the behavior of the malignancy being treated such that the appropriate staging evaluation can be employed. The staging processes of sarcoma and carcinoma are quite different, and the role of the orthopedic surgical oncologist is to understand these differences to expedite diagnosis and direct the appropriate treatment. We will review these different strategies with a focus on behavior by histology.