Abstract. Postcolonial scholars are interested in mapping landscapes of power and identity. In doing so, they focus on the historic entanglements between North and South as well as on the unequal power relations and living conditions of the present. Despite sharing common interests, German-speaking development geography has been reluctant so far to incorporate postcolonial perspectives. Against such a background, this paper aims at showing how development geography could benefit from an engagement with postcolonial approaches. To achieve this aim, the paper firstly offers an overview of the theoretical background of post-colonialism. Secondly, it elaborates on the impulses which development geography could get from postcolonial theory. The conclusion finally summarises the challenges that scholars of development geography face in engaging with postcolonial approaches.