The international classification of diseases 11^th（ICD‒11）revision is due by 2015. The ICD‒11 beta draft has recently been released, which includes a prospective change in the content of mood disorders. The ICD‒11 may separate the disorders into bipolar and depressive disorders as a consequence of an evaluation for the feasibility of a meta‒structure for mental and behavioral disorders. In addition, the bipolar disorders may be divided into typeⅠ and Ⅱ disorders. The depressive disorders may include new diseases, i. e., disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, mixed depressive anxiety, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
 Our epidemiological data from patients with mood disorders diagnosed using the ICD‒10 or DSM‒Ⅳ have proven their utility in clinical use, and suggested a required revision for the criteria of the diagnosis. A part of persistent mood disorders, such as cyclothymia and dysthymia, seem to be the prodromal state of bipolar disorders. For an accurate assessment of manic and hypomanic episodes, a precise estimation of the physiological effects of antidepressants as well as a sufficient review of clinical information from family members of patients are mandatory. The mixed affective episode may be deleted in the new version, because our data also indicate that this episode is a very rare clinical state. Moreover, it appears that inpatients with bipolar Ⅱ disorder diagnosed by the DSM‒Ⅳ in our hospital showed heterogeneous clinical properties, such as the onset age and interval between the first depressive and first hypomanic episode.
 After a worldwide and intensive discussion, it appears that the newly revised ICD‒11 will be an advanced scientific tool for psychiatry.