Acute severe exacerbation of ulcerative colitis is a potentially life threatening medical emergency. The management of acute severe ulcerative colitis depends on early recognition and prompt initiation of intensive intravenous treatment along with continuous objective monitoring for possible medical failure. The intensive regime is the accepted standard of care. This includes primarily a) intravenous corticosteroids, b) intravenous supportive management, and d) intravenous antibiotics in instances. This review discusses the timing, duration and dosage of the intensive intravenous treatment including the evidence based protocol for effective monitoring to enable timely escalation to second line therapy & colectomy.