We studied the intubating conditions, haemodynamic and endocrine changes following tracheal intubation during sevoflurane anaesthesia guided by Bispectral Index (BIS) monitoring in 40 children who received either remifentanil 1 microg.kg-1 (group R) or saline 1 ml.kg-1 (group S). Acceptable intubating conditions were found in all patients in group R (n = 20), compared to only 12 patients in group S (p = 0.002). There were no intergroup differences in heart rate, systolic blood pressure and plasma concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine at any time point and changes in haemodynamic variables throughout the study period were moderate. Titration of sevoflurane delivery to a target BIS of 35 +/- 5 led to almost equal end-tidal sevoflurane concentrations in either group and remifentanil did not affect the BIS. There were no side-effects in either group that required intervention. Intubating conditions during sevoflurane anaesthesia in children were found to be improved by a single bolus dose of remifentanil 1 microg.kg-1.