Most attacks of acute pancreatitis) have a favorable course and can thus be treated by conservative measures. The purpose of this review is: a) to present techniques (prognostic scores, computerized axial tomography, etc.) which can assist in the early identification of those cases of acute pancreatitis which can reasonably be submitted to non-surgical treatment; b) to summarize and discuss the main results of recent pharmaceutical research, and various conservative measures which have proven helpful in the treatment of this difficult disease.