Identical to the preceding guidelines of this series, these practice guidelines for the biological, mainly pharmacological treatment of acute bipolar mania were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). Their purpose is to supply a systematic overview of all scientific evidence pertaining to the treatment of acute mania. The data used for these guidelines have been extracted from a MEDLINE and EMBASE search, from recent proceedings of key conferences, and from various national and international treatment guidelines. Their scientific rigor was categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). As these guidelines are intended for clinical use, the scientific evidence was finally not only graded, but has also been commented by the experts of the task force to ensure practicability. Key words: bipolar disorder, mania, acute treatment, evidence-based guidelines, pharmacotherapy, antipsychotics, mood stabiliser, electroconvulsive therapy.