The treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is becoming more dependent upon early diagnosis. For the majority of patients whose bleeding has stopped when they come to the physician's attention, treatment for peptic disorders remains the mainstay of therapy. For patients who present to the physician actively bleeding, early intervention with endoscopic therapeutic techniques probably will be the most beneficial. Currently available pharmacotherapeutic agents are of limited value in this situation. Further studies to prove and confirm the efficacy of the various techniques need to be carried out.