The BBC's Mark Lowen: "It was some of the worst violence Athens had seen for months"
Greece's parliament has passed a controversial package of austerity measures, demanded by the eurozone and IMF in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout to avoid default.
The vote was carried by 199 votes in favour, with 74 MPs voting against.
Coalition parties expelled over 40 deputies for failing to back the bill.
The vote came amid violent scenes in capital, Athens, and elsewhere, with protesters outside parliament throwing stones and petrol bombs.
Police fired tear gas and several buildings were set on fire in Athens.
Dozens of police officers and at least 37 protesters were injured, 23 suspected rioters were arrested and a further 25 detained, AP reports.
PM Lucas Papademos urged calm, saying violence had no place in a democracy.
Lawmakers have also approved a related deal to write off 100bn euros of Greek debt held by private banks.
Despite a rebellion by some MPs from parties in the ruling coalition, the result was expected, reports the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens.
Pasok, the largest party, and its coalition ally New Democracy - which have both backed the bill - account for more than 230 deputies out of a total of 300.
Following the vote the parties announced they had each expelled about 20 of the rebel MPs.
'Vandalism'There is mounting public anger in Greece and a feeling that the impact on ordinary people is beyond the value of the bailout, says our correspondent.
Some reports say as many as 80,000 people joined demonstrations in Athens, with another 20,000 protesting in Thessaloniki.
Violent protests also spread to other Greek town and cities, including the holiday islands of Corfu and Crete, according to Reuters.
Running battles with police continued until late on Sunday, although no new clashes were reported after the vote.
Protesters hurled flares and chunks of marble torn up from the square. Some had tried to break through a cordon of riot police around the parliament.
Several historic buildings, including cafes and cinemas, were set alight.
Ioannis Simantiras, 34, said the protesters were boxed in by the police.
"Nobody could get away from the gas," he told the BBC.
"When it engulfed everybody, and everybody was choking the police drew back and opened up a corridor for us away from the parliament - that's when everybody made a run for it."
The austerity measures include:
- 15,000 public-sector job cuts
- liberalisation of labour laws
- lowering the minimum wage by 20% from 751 euros a month to 600 euros
- negotiating a debt write-off with banks.
Mr Papademos had earlier said Greece did not have the luxury of such protests in such difficult times.
"Vandalisms, violence and destruction have no place in a democratic country and won't be tolerated," he said in a speech in parliament before the vote.
"From you and your vote it will depend if Greece will remain in the euro or if it will be driven to an unruly default," he said.
"By voting for this economic programme and opening the road for the loan agreement you will set the foundations for the reform and recovery of the economy."
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the question was not "whether some salaries and pensions will be curtailed, but whether we will be able to pay even these reduced wages and pensions".
"When you have to choose between bad and worse, you will pick what is bad to avoid what is worse," he said.
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said: "The dramatic events in the centre of Athens harm Greece and hurt all the Greek people.
"We have seen scenes that must not happen again in the future. I ask every Greek to show prudence, patriotism, calm, and unity," he added.
Earlier this week several ministers from the coalition government, including two from Pasok, quit their jobs in protest at the measures.
The leader of the far-right Laos party effectively withdrew his party from the coalition, announcing its 15 deputies would not back the austerity measures.
George Karatzaferis complained that Greeks were being "humiliated" by Germany, through its influence over the eurozone negotiations.
The eurozone bloc wants a further 325m euros in savings for this year and also insists that Greek leaders give "strong political assurances" on the implementation of the packages.
Greece cannot service its huge debt, and there are fears that a default could endanger Europe's financial stability and even lead to a break-up of the eurozone.
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