In this paper, we study the existence, multiplicity and uniqueness of positive solutions for the fourth order p-Laplacian boundary value problem. {(vertical bar u ''vertical bar(p-1)u '')'' = f (t, u), u((2i))(0) = u((2i))(1) = 0, i = 0, 1. Here p > 0 and f is an element of C([0, 1] x R+, R+) (R+ := [0,infinity)). Based on a priori estimates achieved by utilizing properties of concave functions, we use fixed point index theory to establish our main results. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.