  We know from cosmological and astrophysical observations that more than 80%
of the matter density in the Universe is non-luminous, or dark. This
non-baryonic dark matter could be composed of neutral, heavy particles, which
were non-relativistic, or 'cold', when they decoupled from ordinary matter. I
will review the direct detection methods of these hypothetical particles via
their interactions with nuclei in ultra-low background, deep underground
experiments. The emphasis is on most recent results and on the status of near
future projects.
