Zusammenfassung: The 'Manual Systematic Literature Search for the Development of Guidelines" adresses the needs of guideline developers and authors regarding an efficient and qualified literature search to identify all the available evidence relevant for the medical topic. The Manual can stand alone or could be used to train authors and developers for independent literature searches. It is based on international accepted standards for the conduct of systematic literature searches. It is complementary to the standards for guideline development of the German Association of the Scientific Medical Societies