A process for the manufacturing of levetiracetam, wherein said process comprises the steps of: (1) reacting the (−)-(S)-alpha-ethyl-2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetic acid with a substoichiometric amount of an activating agent in an alcoholic solvent, and (2) subjecting the resulting reaction solution of step (1) to an ammonolysis process with gaseous ammonia.