This article presents the WHO recommendations on the use of hepatitis B vaccines excerpted from the recently published Hepatitis B vaccines: WHO position paper. This document replaces the WHO position paper on hepatitis B vaccines published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record in July 2004. Footnotes to this paper provide a limited number of core references; their abstracts as well as a more comprehensive list of references may be found at http://www.who.int/immunization/documents/positionpapers/en/index.html. Grading tables assessing the level of scientific evidence are also available through this link and are referenced in the position paper. In accordance with its mandate to provide guidance to Member States on health-policy matters, WHO is issuing a series of regularly updated position papers on vaccines and combinations of vaccines against diseases that have an international public health impact. These papers are concerned primarily with the use of vaccines in large-scale immunization programmes; they summarize essential background information on diseases and vaccines, and conclude with the current WHO position concerning their use in the global context. This updated paper reflects the recent recommendations of WHO's strategic Advisory Group of experts on immunization.