To investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout in a community population of Huangpu District in Shanghai. In the target community, 2037 dwellers were interviewed with relevan questionnares from house to house. According to even house number 1017 blood samples were taken for serum uric acid (SUA) levels measured with the uricase-peroxidase enzymatic method. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 14.2% in men (SUA > 70 mg/L, 62 cases), 7.1% in women (SUA > 60 mg/L, 41 cases), 10.1% in both sexes. Seven gout patients were all men. The prevalence of gout in 2037 dwellers in Huangpu District was 0.77% in men and 0.34% in both sexes. The mean SUA level in each age group in this survey was much higher than that of a previous study 1 carried out in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou in 1980 (P < 0.05). And the prevalence of hyperuricemia was increased rapidly (in men: from 1.4% in the survey of 1980 to 14.2% in our survey; in women: from 1.3% in the survey of 1980 to 7.1% in our survey). Compared with Idonesia data in 1992, the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout in our survey was lower than that in Indonesia (P < 0.05), which suggests that racial and genetic predispositions are key causative factors.