Diabetes has been estimated to affect around one million Australians and is reportedly increasing in prevalence. Australian hospitals data help to give an indication of the impact of diabetes on health service use. This report presents information on Australian hospital statistics for people with diabetes; trends are presented for 1996-97 to 1998-99 and for 2000-01 to 2003-04, and data for 2003-04 are examined for a number of key characteristics.