A method is presented for selecting the subset of identified structural vibration modes to be used in finite element model correlation for structural damage detection. The method is hased on a ranking of the modes using measured modal strain energy and is a function of only the measured modal parameters. It is shown that a mode selection strategy based on maximum modal strain energy produces more accurate update results than a strategy based on minimum frequency. Strategies that use the strain energy stored by modes in both the undamaged and damaged structural configuration are considered. It is demonstrated that more accurate results are obtained when the modes are selected using the maximum strain energy stored in the damaged structural configuration. The mode selection techniques are applied to the results of a damage detection experiment on a suspended truss structure that has a large amount of localized modal behavior.