Acute bacterial prostatitis is a sudden bacterial infection that is usually caused by bacteria that get into the prostate. The most common route is the ascending urinary tract from perineum and urethra. Because the prostate surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body from the bladder), conditions that cause the prostate to swell or enlarge may press on the urethra and cause pain in the pelvis and genital area or voiding problems such as increased urinary frequency, urgency, and nocturia. Bacteremia often results from acute prostatitis that usually presents with severe systemic illnesses such as fever, chills, arthralgia, and myalgia. The diagnosis of acute bacterial prostatitis can be made based on clinical signs and symptoms. The most common organism of acute bacterial prostatitis is Escherichia coli. The mainstay of therapy in acute bacterial prostatitis is empiric antimicrobial therapy directed toward the most likely pathogens. In this article we review the acute bacterial prostatitis and recent surveillance of acute bacterial prostatitis in Korea.