Infants cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) undergo a large number of painful procedures during their stay.There is an increasing evidence base that suggests exposure to noxious stimuli during the neonatal period can have long term effects, both physically and neurobehaviorally,on the developing child.A number of validated tools exist for the assessment of pain in infants.There have also been technological advances in the objective measurement of physiological responses to pain in the infant.However, to date pain assessment tools are still not used by health care professionals in clinical practice routinely.There is good evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of pain and agitation in hospitalized infants.Morphine and synthetic opioids are used routinely in clinical practice.There is also evidence for the effectiveness of sucrose in reducing procedural pain however uptake of this research evidence into practice remains variable.Clinicians need to understand the contextual circumstances underpinning a particular babys pain, and should tailor therapy accordingly, using the most current evidence available, in relation to both the assessment, and the management, of their pain.