In the 1990s, a new group of antipsychotics emerged, also known as second-generation and described as atypicals because of the low incidence of extrapyramidal side-effects (EPSE). These drugs were considered to be a great step forward in the treatment of schizophrenia; the low incidence of EPSE allowed patients to avoid the stigma of the well-recognised movement problems caused by the typical antipsychotics. Almost a decade later, these atypical drugs began to be used widely in bipolar disorder. In this paper we review their pharmacology, neurobiology and uses in various forms of bipolar disorder.