This review deals with the pathogenesis of the post‐weaning syndrome. This syndrome includes post‐weaning diarrhoea (PWD), oedema disease (OD) and endotoxin shock (ES). The role of different enteropathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria and some other predisposing factors relating to this post‐weaning syndrome (PWS) are discussed Based on intestinal pathophysiological mechanisms, some suggestions for the prevention of PWS and prospects for future research are given.