We present the profile of risk factors, etiologic and clinical data for 2000 consecutive patients with first-ever-in-a-life-stroke, admitted to the Ege University Hospital between January 1, 1991 through September 31, 1995. This hospital-based registry is the first systematic epidemiologic report on the stroke profile of Turkish people. Ege University Stroke Unit is the only tertiary medical care facility which is organised for acute stroke patients in İzmir, Turkey. A prospective hospital-based registry using systematic computer coding of data of all stroke patients has been enrolled since January 1991. All patients were evaluated by clinical examination, CT and/or MRI, color duplex, specific cardiac investigations. They were followed up for at least 6 months. The mean age was 62.3+12 , and 44.4% were females. Ischemic stroke was found in 77%, primary intracerebral hemorrhage in 19%, and subarachnoid hemorrhage in 4%. The major risk factor of ischemic stroke was hypertension (63%), followed by hypercholesterolemia ( 37%), diabetes mellitus (35%), ischemic heart disease (23%), atrial fibrillation (20%), and smoking (17%). The main cause of primary intracerebral hemorrhage was hypertension (87%) and principal localization was thalamic (38%), followed by putaminal (28%), lobar (16%), pons (6%), cerebellar (4%), primary intraventricular hemorrhage (4%), and multiple hemorrhage (2%). The hospital-mortality rate was 19% overall. The Ege Stroke Registry allows to estimate of the stroke-related problems in patients admitted to a stroke unit and to study of the risk factors, etiology, and clinical manifestations of stroke in Turkey.