The invention is directed to a motor-driven chain saw having a housing and a drive motor mounted in the housing for driving a sprocket wheel. The sprocket wheel, in turn, drives a saw chain guided around the periphery of a guide bar. The flat guide bar projects forwardly in the longitudinal direction of the chain saw and has a rearward end facing toward the sprocket wheel. Stud bolts fixed to the housing lie perpendicularly to the guide bar and project therethrough. The stud bolts also extend through a sprocket wheel cover laterally closing off the housing. The stud bolts have projecting free ends carrying respective nuts. In this way, the rearward end of the guide bar can be tightly clamped between the housing and the sprocket wheel cover. The stud bolts have respective other ends facing away from the guide bar which are tightly seated in the engine block of the drive motor. In this way, the loads acting on the guide bar can be taken up without danger of causing fractures in the housing.