Chronic pancreatitis is a multifaceted disease encountered in routine clinical work of physicians representing different medical disciplines, such as therapists, gastroenterologists, endoscopists, etc. Therefore, each specialist must take an unambiguous solution as regards the choice of the most effective treatment modality for an individual patient, i.e. either conservative therapy, endoscopic or surgical intervention. In certain cases, a combined approach is needed with the simultaneous application of the most effective medications allowing a number of problems to be resolved at a time including alleviation of pancreatic pain, reduction and/or compensation of pancreatic insufficiency, and prevention of the development of complications. In the absence of relevant international standards, the opinions of all specialists involved in the treatment of a concrete patient must be consistent with the results of evidence-based investigations. The priority should be given to the opinion of the gastroenterologist because he (she) makes the final decision concerning the extension of the treatment program by means of inclusion of endoscopic and surgical methods. The objective of the present review is to analyze the results of research in this field with special reference to the guidelines proposed by pancreatologic associations of different countries. It is concluded that the conclusions and recommendations formulated based on the results of their analysis may prove helpful for gastroenterologists, surgeons, and general practitioners.