The aims of this study were to determine the number of randomised clinical trials where the correspondence address included the words 'Hong Kong' for the years of publication between January 1987 and December 1996, and to study their characteristics: year of publication, disease area, sample size, and correspondence address of the department and institute; MEDLINE EXPRESS was used for the search. A total of 5605 publications were identified, of which only 170 (3.0%) were found to be randomised clinical trials. No significant increase in the proportion of randomised clinical trials could be seen during the decade of publication (P>0.05). Approximatley 50% of the trials had a small sample size (fewer than 75 subjects) and most randomised clinical trials were performed in the field of internal medicine, followed by surgery, and obstetrics and gynaecology (total, 69%). The predominant research area was gastrointestinal disease (34%). Despite a relatively high academic output from Hong Kong, the number of randomised clinical trials has not increased much during the decade.