Pain is one of the main presenting symptoms in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and is also an important clinical factor affecting fluid resuscitation, enteral nutrition, early mobilization, organ support, and post-discharge recovery. The 2026 European interdisciplinary guidelines on pain management in AP were developed using a high-quality guideline development framework and generated 41 consensus-based recommendations across nine topics: general principles of acute pain management, pain pathophysiology, pain assessment, pharmacological treatment, epidural analgesia, complementary therapies, the impact of pain control on clinical outcomes, management of special populations, and discharge and follow-up. The key recommendations include that opioid use should not be delayed in patients with severe pain because of theoretical safety concerns; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs generally do not increase adverse events or worsen AP severity; patient-controlled intravenous analgesia should not be used as a routine strategy; epidural analgesia may have potential benefits in severe AP; acupuncture and Chaiqin Chengqi decoction may be considered as limited adjunctive treatment options; and routine imaging follow-up is not supported for patients with pain after discharge, with selective investigations recommended based on clinical indications. This guideline interpretation discusses the key recommendations, evidence base, and implementation considerations in the context of clinical practice in China, aiming to provide a reference for standardizing AP pain management and optimizing patient outcomes.