AIM: The authors present the results of the first survey conducted among the population of the Futa Jallon province in Guinea on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and associated risk factors for diabetes. METHOD: A random sample of the study population selected by cluster house sampling method included 1537 Guineans (807 women and 730 men) aged 35 years and above in urban (Labé) and rural (Fellö Koundoua-Tougué) areas. Participants were examined and administered a capillary whole blood glycemia test. RESULTS: The mean age of subjects was 49.4 years. Participation rate was 77%. Overall crude diabetes and IFG prevalence were 6.1% and 13.4%, respectively. The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes using the standardized age distribution of Segi was 6.7% (95% CI: 5.5-7.9%). Subjects in the urban area had twice as much DM as in the rural area (OR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3-3.2). Out of the 94 subjects with DM, 66 had no prior history of disease. Urban location, age, waist to hip ratio, excess waist circumference, hypertension, raised systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly positively associated with DM. In multivariate analysis, only age (P=0.002) and waist circumference (P<0.05) remained independently associated with DM. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of DM was higher than expected in urban and rural areas. The data support the conclusion that prevalence of DM is expected to increase with the aging of the population. The factors associated with diabetes are potentially modifiable. Therefore, primary prevention through lifestyle modifications may play a critical role in the control of DM.