OBJECTIVE To provide an epidemiologic descriptive analysis of the acute drug treatment of inpatients with bipolar mania in state psychiatric facilities in 1990. METHODS We surveyed the first 3 weeks of drug treatment of all inpatients with bipolar mania who were admitted to 22 New York State adult psychiatric facilities during a 6-month period (n = 528). RESULTS Almost all patients with mania were treated with neuroleptics. The mean +/- SD neuroleptic dosage was 684 +/- 543 mg/d chlorpromazine equivalents. Sixty-one percent of the patients received lithium and 12% received carbamazepine or valproate. Neuroleptic dosage was related to age, with older patients receiving lower dosages. Patients receiving combination treatment of a neuroleptic with either lithium, an anticonvulsant, or a benzodiazepine received a mean neuroleptic dosage similar to that of patients treated with a neuroleptic alone. CONCLUSIONS Although their use has been widely discouraged for mood disorders, neuroleptics have been the standard treatment for acute mania.