[en] The total photoabsorption cross section for ⁴He has been measured for the first time over a wide photon energy range (200 MeV≤E_γ≤800 MeV). By using the large acceptance detector DAPHNE at the tagged photon facility of the MAMI microtron in Mainz high precision results with small systematic errors were obtained. This measurement shows that ⁴He has a behavior similar to heavy nuclei and, in particular, a reduction of the cross section with respect to the lighter nuclei is found for E_γ>600 MeV. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society