We describe the prevalence and risk factors for PAD in Asian Malays with diabetes. A population-based study of 3,280 (78.7% response) Malay persons aged 40-80 years in Singapore was conducted. ABI was measured in all participants with a history of diabetes (N=634). PAD was defined to be present if ABI <or= 0.9. All participants had standardised interviews, clinical examinations and laboratory investigation for risk factor assessment. The crude prevalence of PAD was 10.4% (95% CI: 8.3%-13.0%). After age standardisation to the 2000 Singapore Census population, the prevalence was 5% (95% CI: 3.8-8.6). In multivariate analyses, the presence of PAD was associated with older age (OR 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01-1.09, per year increase), female gender (OR 4.18; 95% CI: 1.67-10.43), cigarette smoking (OR 2.55; 95% CI: 1.05-6.20), higher systolic blood pressure (OR 1.28; 95% CI: 1.13-1.45), a history of myocardial infarction (OR 3.69; 95% CI: 1.79-7.61) and stroke (OR 3.06 95% CI: 1.25-7.50). In this Asian Malay population with diabetes, we found a high prevalence of PAD.The major risk factors for PAD among persons with diabetes are similar to studies in Caucasian populations, suggesting that strategies aimed at controlling the modifiable factors may reduce the prevalence of PAD in Asian populations.