INTRODUCTION: The majority of scientific results from Hungarian Medical Universities are published in international periodicals in foreign languages. AIM: This study shows that in what numbers, with what kind of impact factors and where the results of the scientific work in the Hungarian Medical Universities are published. METHODS: The examined period is between 2000 and 2003. These scientific publications were explored by two methods based on the own assembled bibliographies of the Hungarian medical universities - University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center, University of Pecs Medical School, University of Semmelweis and University of Szeged Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical and Pharmaceutical Center - and the Web of Science's recording. RESULTS: The scientific publications from our medical universities are published in great number and generally with increasing impact factors to guarantee the international publicity for the Hungarian researches. The 90-95 percent of publications which are intended for international publicity is published in those international journals which have impact factor. Among these journals there are many prestigious ones. CONCLUSIONS: Neither of the two methods which were used for exploring of publishing activity has decisive validity. The institutional reason for this is the insufficiency and the lack of precision of the bibliographies of the universities. In the authors' opinion it would be necessary to develop a uniform, electronic processing and take it over in each universities. So a national scientific database of medical universities would be created by joining these universities' databases.