A total of 302 diabetic patients were selected from regular attendants of the Tikur Anbessa Hospital (TAH) diabetic clinic to determine the prevalence of retinopathy from December 1994 to March 1995. The mean age was 41.4 +/- 14.4 years (range 14-85). There were 160 males (53%) and 142 females (47%). One hundred forty (46%) were type 1 and 162 (53.6%) were type 2. The mean duration of diabetes was 9.4 +/- 5.4 years and the mean Hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc) was 10.4 + 2.2%. On the day of the examination the mean fasting blood glucose (FBG) and random blood glucose (RBG) were 195.5 +/- 79.9 mg/dl and 273.1 +/- 114.5 mg/dl respectively. The mean serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL and GDL were 166.5 +/- 45.5 mg/dl, 129.9 +/- 92.4 mg/dl, 94.5 +/- 36.4 mg/dl, 24.4 +/- 15.1 mg/dl and 44.3 +/- 11.5 mg/dl respectively. The overall prevalence of retinopathy was 37.8% out of which 108 patients (36.1%) had background retinopathy and 5 patients (1.7%) had proliferative retinopathy. The retina could not be visualized in three patients because of dense cataract. Retinopathy correlated positively with age, duration of diabetes and blood pressure respectively, however no significant correlation was seen with mean total HgAlc and serum lipids. Prevalence of retinopathy was comparable in type 1 and type 2 (p > 0.05). The prevalence of retinopathy in our patients relative to the duration of diabetes mellitus is high. Therefore, improving facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy is recommended.